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

Let us look at the big picture. For the first time we have national inspection and inspection reports online. They were never available before except under freedom of information requests from parents. We are bringing in national standards for the first time and frameworks that will be applied consistently. This is a huge number of changes. There will also be legislation, which I hope to introduce shortly. The legislation is well developed. I got permission for the drafting of it, a huge amount of work was done over the summer and I expect to introduce it shortly. It is being finalised in conjunction with the Parliamentary Counsel, and I intend to bring it before the Oireachtas this term.

In addition, we are bringing forward new protocols on regulatory compliance to provide greater clarity and consistency in inspections. Registration on a non-statutory basis was introduced from 1 September and as soon as the legislation is enacted it will become statutory. Inspectors will have powers to take action immediately, including withdrawing registration. As the withdrawal of registration will mean that the service cannot continue, it is a powerful tool where inspectors are not satisfied with what is happening in preschools.

Work is ongoing on the Children First legislation, which is very complex in terms of sanctions and reporting. As it will be onerous on services, I want to be sure it is high quality legislation. Earlier this week I met an international expert in this area who told me that every state in Australia has provided for mandatory reporting. If one has concerns that a child is being abused, it is right that one should be required to report them. The key issues are training and the thresholds of reporting significant harm so that the services are not overwhelmed with inappropriate referrals. These issues are being taken into account in the drafting of the legislation and I will bring the Bill to the House at the earliest opportunity.

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