Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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It will be a smaller proportion, but we will still be looking at a couple of hundred childminders. As the Cathaoirleach knows, we have the childminding action plan we have been working on. It has been published and we have been implementing it in recent years. A key element to getting these childminders registered is the element in the child care (amendment) Bill, on which the committee did pre-legislative scrutiny several months ago. We are working feverishly now to get drafting completed and get it into the Oireachtas rapidly. This is important in terms of setting up the regulatory framework for childminders. We need the legislative base in place. Just to let the Cathaoirleach know in advance, we will be launching the public consultation on the new childminding regulations on 8 February. These are the regulations that any childminder wishing to avail of the national childcare scheme, NCS, will have to sign up to. A great deal of work has been done on these regulations because we wish to make them distinct from those regulations that apply to centre-based childcare.