Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. Obviously I welcome any new service that will help low-income parents back to work or education. I am somewhat disappointed that the Minister does not have more information for us today, but she has acknowledged that once she receives it, it will be forthcoming. The Department keeps referring to this as a pilot scheme and to 6,000 places. Can the Minister give a guarantee that the pilot scheme will consist of those 6,000 places? If we start with a small pilot scheme it could be 2014 before we see the 6,000 in place. Can the Minister confirm that those 6,000 places will become available early next year?

The after school sector is unregulated as is the childminder sector. I have received calls from people working in the industry who have grave concerns in this regard. What are the Minister's plans to deal with this issue? Does she intend to introduce regulation for this sector? Given the amount of public money that will be spent in this area, it is appropriate to have adequate regulation in place.

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