Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If the group the Deputy met would like to make a submission to me I can ensure their views are submitted to the Early Years Strategy Group also. That would be worthwhile.

Traditionally the State has taken the view that if parents make a private decision to have another person look after their child it should be exempt from over-regulation as long as only three children are being looked after by that person. As the Deputy pointed out, other countries have not taken that approach and it may be that attitudes here are changing given safety concerns and questions the Deputy rightly raises about proper standards and ensuring that children are in a setting where their development is being supported in the best possible way. That is the reason it would be interesting to get the experience from other countries, which the Early Years Strategy Group will do, examine the position here and make some decisions about the best way to support the sector. Registration rather than a heavy inspection regime may be the way forward because it is clear that voluntary registration has not appealed to the vast majority of childminders. As the Deputy is aware, it has been a very informal sector and in terms of moving it on to a more formal sector, we will have to examine how best to do that and its impact. That will form part of the early years strategy because it is what many parents choose and therefore it is where many young children are cared for and it behoves us to examine this issue and make the very best decisions with regard to it.

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