Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The reason that question was tabled is that childminders who approached me stated that the consultation had finished when the draft plan was released. They felt that they had not enough time to engage on it.

The childminders do not want academia to write the report. They want it to be childminding-child led. Childminding, as opposed to a centre-based setting, is a completely different animal. The childminders want to be in control of their own rules and regulations with everybody else because it is a completely different setting. I think the Minister would agree with me on all of that.

Can the Minister give me details of the appointments to the various working groups and expert panels? Can the Minister assure me of some of the names that come from the childminding sector that would reassure the childminders that their voices and representations are at the core of this?

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