James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has asked quite a lot of questions which I do not think I can deal with in the short time remaining to me. I reassure her that Report and Final Stages of the Children First Bill will be taken in the House tomorrow and this will provide an opportunity to discuss these matters, which were discussed at some length. I note the concerns expressed by the Deputy and her party colleagues about childminders and I have addressed those concerns previously. The auditing of facilities would represent a huge volume of work and would be a draw on resources for the agency. In our view, that money would be better spent on providing services to children. We have made provision in the Bill to have registration and the right for Tusla to inspect pre-registration. If there is a failure to allow a pre-registration inspection then the premises would not be registered. I thank the Deputy for allowing me this opportunity to state that when this provision is enacted, an advertising campaign will advise parents that there should be a child safety statement in place, and if this is not available then it is not a facility to which parents should send their child, and they should report it to Tusla.

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