Dr. Anne-Marie Brooks:

I thank the Chairman for the invitation to attend this afternoon’s committee meeting. I am joined by my colleague, Mr. Toby Wolfe, principal officer in the quality unit within the early learning and care and school-age childcare division.

The publication of the national action plan for childminding in April this year was a key milestone in Government policy on childminding. Its publication follows a five-year process of engagement with childminders and other stakeholders, and it commits to the extension of supports to and opportunities for childminders over the years ahead. For the first time, it puts childminding at the heart of Government policy.

The national action plan sets out an incremental and supportive pathway to Government support and regulation for childminders, in line with commitments made in First 5, a whole-of-government strategy for babies, young children and their families. A phased approach will provide a significant lead-in time for new requirements that will be introduced, while access to the national childcare scheme will be opened to childminders at the earliest possible opportunity to support parental choice. Phase 1, which will last two to three years, is a preparatory phase that will include developing childminder-specific regulations and bespoke training for childminders, re-examining financial supports available for childminders, and further research and cost estimates. Phase 1 will also involve further engagement and consultation with childminders on the detailed planned reform measures, including regulations, as well as ensuring that childminders and parents are well informed about the reforms at the right time. Phase 2, which will be a transitional phase, will last between three and five years. Phase 3 will involve full implementation.

The phased approach acknowledges that the large majority of the estimated 15,000 childminders in Ireland today have had no experience of regulation or of State supports for their work. The timeframe for the national action plan of more than eight years, the preparation and transition phases within the plan, and the flexibility in the timelines for moving between the three phases of the plan all recognise the need to move incrementally and ensure childminders are prepared for any reforms and supported in going through those reforms. The phased approach is also intended to ensure there is time to develop and put in place the supports childminders will need.

Preparation of the national action plan has from the start involved childminders and the organisations that work closely with them.