Mr. Bernard Gloster:

It might be of assistance to the Deputy to refer back to the statement and the changes I wish to bring about administratively. I have asked the regulatory service to look at this because of the wording in the narrative on it. With regard to the 595 crèches with conditions, to give a comparative example one can look at the HIQA website today and see there is a large number of nursing homes with conditions attached. That does not necessarily mean they are in some type of high risk zone. I have asked the regulatory service to simplify the categorisation issue regarding the ones we are very concerned about, the ones we are happy enough are making progress and the ones we are not troubled about based on the evidence. Then every provider is unequivocally clear about where each stands in that.

If a parent sees there was an inspection on 5 November and the last report was in April, he or she can see that a report is pending. The parent can ask if there are issues in the current inspection report that has not yet been published and if the provider is in one of the categories identified by Tusla. That is the space we are trying to get to in order to assist the public. We might not be able to tell the public somebody is on the high end if it is not a matter of child protection because we must go through the regulatory process. We can start to put a simplicity around the definitions in the process and, if one likes, challenge the sector to rise to the level and protect its interests by saying it recommends that all its members tell parents exactly where they are in the regulatory process.