Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am in Leinster House. I thank all our witnesses for appearing. Their presentations were interesting and informative. We all recognise childcare has been underfunded, misunderstood and insufficiently respected for far too long. To have this conversation and an action plan is, therefore, very positive. We are looking at the pitfalls. I know childminders and I have needed them. From living in a rural area where there is not much access to centre-based care for children, I know that childminding is the only way people can have their children looked after.

With all this regulation, is there a risk of a significant drop-off in the number of childminders? I believe there will be, although I hope that will not be the case. Childminders may decide they only want to do this for a couple of years while their own children are young and then return to work when their children start school. It may cause other childminders to decide they have been in the game long enough and give up or bow out. I fear there will be a problem there with how we support childminders, the majority of whom are female. How do we support and empower our childminders to give regulation to the incredible service they already provide. We hand over our children to childminders because they are the second mothers and are so important to a family.

How will we create a balance between centre-based services and childminding? Centre-based services are so important, particularly for older children. Other members covered the issues of resources and awareness about which I also intended to ask. Any of the witnesses who have an opinion on them may respond to my questions.