Ms Nuala Ward:

We deliberately included this as a case study for the first year. Members will be fully aware that the State has invested significant moneys, and rightly so, in the early years sector and in private providers. However, they are not within our remit and we believe they should be within our remit, simply by virtue of the fact there has been such massive State investment. Parents have come to us because they wish to make a complaint about something that happened in the early years sector to which the response has been "remove your child", just remove them. There is no recourse or no right to redress because obviously there is no body that independently can take complaints on behalf of parents about their experience of a child in a crèche. We wanted to shine a light on what we think is a deficit in light of State investment in this area. We believe it would be hugely beneficial for families and for children aged up to five, who are most vulnerable, that we be able to aid quality assurance and oversight within that area. That is why we decided to include it. We have asked the Government for this as part of the review of our legislation.