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

Some 50,000 children are cared for by childminders every day. The Minister alluded to the fact that the vast majority of the childminders are exempt from regulation and operate without any supervision or support. It is unacceptable that most childminders are exempt from inspection, child protection legislation and Garda vetting. Will the Minister commit to amending the Child Care Act 1991 to ensure that all paid childminders will be subject to regulation and inspection? We are still waiting to see in the Oireachtas the Children First legislation, whose heads were published in the middle of last year. Can the Minister give us a commitment that it will include all paid childminders? Could she state definitively when this important Bill will be dealt with in the Oireachtas?

Childminders were not included in the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill, whose heads, incidentally, were published at the same time as those of the Children First legislation. It has passed through the Houses. One wonders why it was prioritised over the Children First Bill. Are childminders to be excluded from the Children First legislation? Will the Minister consider making the regulatory requirements for childminders the equivalent of those for centre-based services while reflecting that most childminders are self-employed?

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