Mr. Gerry McKiernan:

I welcome this opportunity to update the members on developments within the Child and Family Agency with regard to the inspection and regulation of early years services. In response to Senator van Turnhout, I am the service director in the agency with responsibility for the reform programme of the agency and a number of specialist services, the early years inspection services being one of them, and related matters.

In this opening statement I will cover three main areas, namely, reform, service activity, and transparency, accountability and quality assurance. I am joined by my colleagues Ms Fiona McDonnell and Mr. Mike Corcoran. Ms McDonnell's role is national specialist for early years services, currently holding national responsibility for the inspection services. Mr. Corcoran is the national manager for quality assurance.

Early years inspection services are now part of the Child and Family Agency established on 1 January 2014, which comprises the former HSE Children and Family Services, the Family Support Agency, the National Educational Welfare Board, and a number of other child-related services. It represents the most comprehensive reform of child protection, early intervention and family support services ever undertaken in Ireland. The agency has been established with a staff of 4,000 and an operational budget of €609 million.

With regard to reform, it is one of the key foci of the agency. The significant legislative change in the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 has a particular applicability to the early years inspection service. Part VII of the Child Care Act 1991, which prescribes the powers of supervision and inspection of the early years services, has been amended. The legislative change introduces a pre-approval registration model with the emphasis on quality assurance. It comprehensively reforms the enforcement options available to the agency. Under the new statute, existing notified providers are deemed to be registered with a requirement to reapply for registration within three years, and new services will be required to be registered before they can commence service provision.

Inspections will be based on a newly developed set of national standards, which the Minister has confirmed will be implemented from May onwards. These standards will focus on the experiences and outcomes for children attending the early years services. They are intended to strengthen the management, governance and supervision of services. They will provide a comprehensive framework for the regulation and quality assurance of all early years services.

In accordance with the requirements of section 46 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, the agency has submitted a business plan to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which sets out a range of priorities to be addressed in 2014.

The focus in the early years inspection service will be on quality assurance, workforce development and outcomes for children. The early years inspection service will operate on a national rather than a local or regional basis. This is to ensure that resources are deployed to maximum effect and that a consistent service is provided. A number of areas of action have been prioritised. These are: strengthening the national early years inspection system; applying new protocols and standards to underpin regulatory compliance and enforcement; and introducing a registration system.

The new registration system, which replaces the previous system of notification, will be introduced in response to that amendment to Part VII of the Child Care Act 1991.

Standards based inspections will commence in 2014, and again May is the target date in that regard. An information and communications technology system is being developed to support the inspection and registration processes and to facilitate payment of registration fees online. The inspection function is being strengthened by the appointment of a number of additional inspectors and inspection reports will be published online in a timely manner.

In regard to service activity, I would like members to note that a service improvement programme has been underway in the early years inspection service over the past year. The aim of this programme is to standardise the inspection process across the country and tackle resource deficits, in particular in the greater Dublin area.

The inspection staff complement is currently 42 whole-time equivalents. There are eight vacancies currently and these have been approved for filling. Interviews have been held and preferred candidates are being deployed. New posts will be filled from the panels created following those recent interviews. Our target is to increase inspection staff to 47 given an approximate 1:100 of inspector to services. The inspection service will be managed on a national rather than a local or regional basis.

In 2013, 2,432 inspections and 526 advisory visits were undertaken. Some 359 complaints were received and investigated and eight prosecutions were instituted. The Child and Family Agency is committed to making inspection reports available online to parents and guardians in a timely manner so that they can make informed choices about early years provision for their children. The focus is also on providing clear information that details any reported breaches. Reports must observe quality assurance and data protection protocols and all elements of regulations must be commented on.

Retrospective inspection reports from January 2010 to July 2013 are now being published on the Pobal website. To date, 2,635 reports have been made available online. The remaining historic reports will be published by end April 2014. In addition, all inspection reports since 1 July 2013 are being published on a current basis.

In June 2013 the HSE children and family services commissioned research on pre-school inspection reports and the pre-school inspection process covering the 17-month period from January 2012 to May 2013. This research is being finalised and is being reviewed by the Child and Family Agency. The findings from the reports will be of particular assistance to service users, inspectors, service providers, policy makers and others in highlighting areas of concern that have been identified through the inspection process.

The preliminary findings demonstrate that the majority of providers are compliant with the legislation. Particular areas for improvement have been identified, notably, management and staffing, safety and record-keeping. When the research is completed, a seminar will be arranged, in consultation with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, to discuss the key findings and recommendations with stakeholders.

Early years inspection services play an important role in increasing the numbers of children who are given opportunities to develop essential skills which support effective early engagement at school. The Child and Family Agency is committed to developing the highest possible standards in the provision of early years services. The focus is on ensuring that parents are empowered to source high quality child care that promotes the welfare of children and enhances their development.

The agency recently published its initial statement of purpose entitled, Ireland's Child and Family Agency, Towards a Shared Purpose. The aim of this document is to enable a wide-ranging consultation and debate in regard to the priorities and key objectives for the agency in the preparation of its first three-year plan to be published in the summer of 2014. We are inviting partners and stakeholders to critique this document in order to ensure that the priorities outlined are the top priorities for Ireland's children. Consultation with the early years sector will be an important part of this process.

The early years strategy commissioned by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, is welcome as it will bring a particular focus and clarity to this important sector. Together with my colleagues, I will be happy to take members' questions.