Ms Frances Byrne:

I did not realise the boss had joined the call, so I will keep this short as I am sure Ms Heeney is anxious to speak. We are inclined to hold up Scandinavian countries as examples of the direction we want to take in terms of investment, subsidies for parents and quality. In two of the those countries, childminders are regulated and treated as professionals like the rest of the workforce. What we are seeking to do is very challenging because of where we in Ireland are coming from but it is not impossible.

It is important that we keep children at the centre of this; it is certainly important for children. Childminders should be brought into this in a timely and reasonable way. Nobody is talking about the kind of regulation that settings must go through. That is absolutely not the case and would not make sense. It is not outside our wits to do it.

I entirely agree with our ACP colleagues. This is about the Government taking responsibility and getting the word out. One of our concerns is that if there is stopping and starting with the phases, it will undermine confidence among families and childminders. Those are just some words of caution.