Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to pick up on the Minister's final point. I get that this is complicated. There is no square peg in a round hole when it comes to childminders. It is often the case that when childminders are being used, it is because there are no other suitable childcare options. There could be many good reasons for that, such as the size of a family, work patterns or kids being at different stages of education. Putting a 12-year-old or an 11-year-old into afterschool care is not really desirable but, equally, leaving such a child at home alone is not feasible.

The Minister can correct me if I am wrong. Phase 1, which involves two to three years for developing the regulation, kicked off in September 2021, so we are looking at September 2023 or September 2024 before it is completed. The crux of my question is, when will parents currently using childminders who are not in the situation the Minister mentioned in terms of minding more than four or seven kids and already being registered with Tusla genuinely be able to make the most of what has been an expansive and welcome shift in funding when it comes to childcare models? Can the Minister provide specific dates in that regard?

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