Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Minister and wish her well in her role. I start by agreeing with Deputies Ó Laoghaire and Rabbitte. In fairness, the Minister has done a great deal of work in the area and she is very genuine and sincere about what she wants to achieve. It is not an easy task. On the issue around the danger of 21 August, it is somewhat ironic that it is the date chosen given that so many child care workers are still signing on for social welfare payments at that time. Are they expected to return to work without being paid? What way will that date work? Will it be up to each provider? Obviously, somebody will have to be there to do the administration work.

I welcome the fact that the Minister is meeting with Childminding Ireland. A number of years ago, there was a child minding advisory service provided through county and city child care committees. It had a relatively small budget but provided a great deal of information and, probably, encouraged child minders to register. The fear for a lot of child minders now is that if they come forward, the reality that most are being paid in cash may have a tax implication. While I do not stand over that, if we want to encourage child minders to register and upskill, given the number of people who cannot use crèches and must rely on them, we should reintroduce the advisory service. It would be a way to encourage people to come forward, engage more with the system and earn further qualifications. That would be a positive step. While there may be an information campaign to encourage people to register with Tusla, if it were done through the county and city child care committees, which are more local and approachable, it would be a more personal and better approach. It might be a good way to encourage child minders to register.