Lynn Ruane (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am asking about the position if a person is not registered to access some of the State supports. I have done a lot of work on spent convictions and it always creeps into my head when I think of some who may fear registering because of a past conviction, especially in working-class communities that have been over-policed to a high degree. The conviction may be minor and would not necessarily have anything to do with the task of childminding. Maybe the mother in the house is the one doing the childminding and her son or husband will have a past conviction. If a person with a conviction is registered, he or she would obviously have to be registered with a body. What happens in that case? When the person is vetted by the Garda, is he or she told he or she cannot be a childminder? Should we be making sure there is inbuilt discretion regarding how people read Garda vetting reports and decide what is relevant? If the relevant body decides someone cannot practise as a childminder, or whatever the right term is, does it inform the parents who have been using that childminder? If the childminder is no longer registered, he or she will not be able to gain access to the State supports. Are the people who used the childminder informed?