Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth

National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028: Discussion

Ms Bernadette Orbinski Burke:

Further to what Ms Quinn was saying, which was absolutely correct, an awful lot of money must be spent on the communication piece because childminders work alone. It is not like we can contact a big group in a crèche, for example. Money must be put into communications and advertising.

There are two other points to note. We can also try to contact childminders through the parents who use their services, maybe through schools for school-age children and perhaps through other vehicles for preschool children. The other point is a relationship based form of childcare. An awful lot of childminders know other people who are childminding. If we have more resources, we can branch out through that network. I take the Deputy's comment that it is something which will take time to do properly.