Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 110, 121 and 124 together.

The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 commits to opening the national childcare scheme to childminders at the earliest possible opportunity, although it will be necessary first to develop and introduce childminder-specific regulations and to give childminders adequate time and support to meet regulatory requirements. The Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides a statutory basis for the national childcare scheme, specifies that only Tusla-registered providers are eligible to participate in the national childcare scheme. The restriction of public funding to Tusla-registered providers helps ensure that funding is only provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision.

Childminders who are currently minding four or more preschool children, or seven or more children of any age, are already required to register with Tusla and can already access the increased subsidies for parents announced in budget 2023. While only a small number of childminders are currently registered with Tusla, it is intended that the national action plan for childminding will result in the opening up of the national childcare scheme to a much wider cohort of childminders.

The overall objective of the national action plan is to improve access to high quality and affordable early learning and care and school-age childcare through childminding. To do this, the action plan sets out an incremental and supportive pathway to reform. Phase 1 of the national action plan, which began in 2021, is expected to take two to three years to complete. Phase 1 includes: development of new, childminder-specific regulations that are proportionate and appropriate to the home environment in which childminders work; development and roll-out of new, bespoke training for childminders; amendment of primary legislation to enable childminders to register with Tusla; and re-examining the funding and financial supports available for childminders.

A steering group was formed in September 2021 to drive and monitor implementation of the commitments in the national action plan.

The steering group is chaired by my Department and includes representation of childminders, parents and other key stakeholders. The steering group is supported by four advisory groups, membership of which also includes representation of childminders, parents and stakeholders. The steering group provides strategic direction for the national action plan, drawing on the advice of the advisory groups. It advises my Department on policy, as well as regulatory and budgetary measures to ensure effective implementation, and it monitors risks and identifies measures to mitigate those risks. The steering group is required to submit an annual progress report to me. I am looking forward to receiving its first annual progress report in the near future.

Since coming into office, I have been committed to seeing this process through. A great deal of work still lies ahead. This is a complicated matter. There are thousands of individuals who are doing valuable work supporting parents, families and children. We want the parents using those services to be able to avail of the NCS but we need an element of regulations and some guarantees in terms of quality and basic standards. We are seeking to design appropriate regulations. We cannot apply to childminders the regulations that we apply to service-based childcare. We have to make it attractive for them to come into that process. That is why we are working closely with representative bodies to explain what we are doing, get a sense of which regulations can or cannot apply, and seek to roll that out. We are seeking to make it attractive and get childminders signed up. Once they are signed up and registered with Tusla, the parents who use them will be able to start to draw down the NCS.

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