Dr. Anne-Marie Brooks:

The opening statement outlined the considerable consultation that has taken place in developing the national action plan since the establishment of the working group in 2016 chaired by Childminding Ireland. In the course of that working group and the report that it developed, there was quite significant engagement in surveys with parents and with Childminding Ireland members, discussion days with childminders and consultation with children themselves.

In the process of developing the draft national action plan, there was also a considerable range of public consultation activities, including an open call for submissions, online surveys with childminders and surveys with parents. There were focus groups undertaken in every city and county childcare committee, CCC, area throughout the country. There were 32 focus groups in total in which 205 childminders attended and there was an open policy debate. All of that culminated in the finalisation of the national action plan for childminding. There is a commitment in the action plan to continue that level of engagement and consultation with childminders and we have already commenced that process of continued engagement and consultation.

What the consultation findings told us in preparing the plan is that there was broad strong support for the direction of travel. There was broad support for the introduction of regulations to childminders. There was broad support for the extension of State-funded supports to childminders. There was support for the commitments to develop staff local networks for childminders and very strong support in opening up the national childcare scheme to all childminders who meet requirements making childcare more affordable to parents who use this form of childcare.

Clearly, with the scale of reform that is planned over the duration of this plan, there are concerns among childminders. There is an anxiety, I suppose, around the reform and what the change may mean for them. That is why we have taken an incremental approach to bringing this reform about. A phased and supported incremental approach is what is intended, reflecting the views and the issues raised through the process of consultation.