Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to improve the regulation and inspection of child care facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32680/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the greater priority focus being afforded to the early years and child care sector, as evidenced by the first two questions today. I have previously stated my commitment and that of the Government to improving quality in preschool services. Improving quality also represents an essential building block toward the extension of universal early years provision.

As previously indicated my Department and I are working on a comprehensive preschool quality agenda addressing actions in eight areas: publishing inspection reports online; strengthening the national inspection system; introducing new protocols on compliance and enforcement; increasing and widening the sanctions which can be taken for non-compliance; increasing the qualification requirements for all staff in preschool services; introducing in September a registration system for all preschool services; implementing the new National Quality Standards, which will impact on the quality of inspection reports; and supporting implementation of the Síolta framework and Aistear curriculum.

In response to the Deputy's question, I wish to provide a further update on the actions relating to regulation and inspection.

The implementation of National Quality Standards for preschool services will commence later this year. The standards will replace previous guidelines and explanatory notes, which the inspectors currently use, and will set out the quality outcomes and supporting criteria against which the inspections under the preschool regulations will be measured.

A new registration system for preschool services will be introduced, commencing in September of this year. At present, child care providers are only required to notify the Health Service Executive, HSE, at least 28 days before they open. That is an extraordinary situation when one thinks about it. Under the new registration system services wishing to open will be required to register with the HSE and be deemed fully compliant and suitable for purpose before they will be permitted to operate.

The HSE pre-school inspectorate is working to put preschool service inspection reports online. In the first instance I want to inform the House the reports will be available from the Pobal website via a direct link on the HSE website. Background work has been done to ensure that happens. A commitment has been given to place new reports, once completed, online from last Monday, 1 July 2013, therefore any new reports that come into the system will be placed online as soon as they are available. Work is ongoing to ensure that any historic reports will be placed online also but it is important to emphasise that parents can contact providers and ask for reports. The inspectorate has been extremely busy with requests from parents and responding to parents in recent weeks and giving them information on inspections and report, and I would encourage that.

Information not given on the floor of the House

My Department is supporting the inspectorate and Pobal in this work, which will commence in August.

Management reforms are under way within the HSE in advance of the creation of the child and family agency. This includes a programme of work to strengthen the preschool inspectorate to ensure a greater nationwide consistency of practice in line with new National Quality Standards and to address concerns regarding local inconsistencies and fragmentation.

In addition, the HSE is currently reviewing the regional spread of resources including to determine whether either additional resources or redeployment of existing inspectors is required. I am engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, on additional resource implications.

There is a need for greater clarity and consistency of approach as to how inspection reports record serious non-compliance and what happens as a result. For that reason I have directed that a new and different approach will be taken to enforcement, prosecution, closure, and suspension or termination of State funding. New protocols between the Department and the pre-school inspectorate and, as appropriate, with Pobal, will mean a more graduated approach where very serious non-compliance will be singled out from more minor breaches and steps taken, up to and including prosecution and closure, which are proportionate to the breaches.

I have previously stated that there must be a substantial deterrent for non-compliance. I have asked my Department to undertake a review of the penalties currently in place for breach of the pre-school regulations, as provided for under the Child Care Act 1991, so as to increase the range and severity of the existing penalties including the actions which can be taken by inspectors without recourse to court prosecution.

I believe an enhanced focus on regulation and inspection is essential in light of the unacceptable practices witnessed in a number of crèches. The measures which I have outlined will ensure a considerable strengthening of the regulatory and inspection systems.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister's reply. I reiterate that we were all appalled, shocked and disgusted by the emotional abuse and physical heavy-handedness we all witnessed on the RTE programme. I welcome the Minister's renewed commitment that registrations for new child care facilities will be in place in September.

It is obvious that the inspections of these facilities are inadequate considering that one of the crèches featured in the RTE exposé had passed inspection the previous month. In the committee meeting of 11 June, the Minister committed to a change in the inspections by September 2013.

Will that target be met and are there adequate numbers of public health nurses and inspectors available to carry out inspections? In the previous two years inspections were not carried out in a number of areas as a result of a lack of the necessary personnel. Has the position been rectified and have adequate numbers of the staff required to carry out inspections throughout the country been appointed?

At the committee meeting to which I refer, the Minister gave a commitment to amend the Child Care Act before the summer recess. As she may be aware, I brought forward a Child Care (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill last week. I hope she will consider the Bill which, if enacted, would lead to the imposition of punitive penalties on any child care facility which breaches the current regulations. Given that 48% of child care facilities breached the regulation relating to the adult-child ratio, does the Minister remain of the view that, even though she was advised against it, the decision to increase the adult-child ratio which applies to the ECCE scheme from 1:10 to 1:11 was correct?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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In the context of changing the inspection regime, it is clear that what will have the greatest impact will be the implementation of new standards with regard to the inspection of facilities. The new national quality standards will have precisely that impact. Work has been ongoing on those standards for many years. This area has been hugely neglected by previous Governments. We are now focusing on ensuring that national inspections will take place and that there will be national standards which must be adhered to. This matter has been dealt with in a very fragmented and local way. There are inspectors who have been committed to doing the work with which they have been tasked but they have not received the support they require on a national basis. The new national quality standards have been produced and the day care standards have been completed and are available online. We are in the process of completing the standards relating to the approximately 200 childminders throughout the country who are subject to inspection. Work is also being done in respect of after-care and part-time services.

I met the inspectors and they are very keen to implement the national quality standards, which will now provide the guidance that accompanies the regulations. They will focus on a range of areas which are very important. In the past, the focus was much narrower in scope. It must be pointed out, however, that section 5 of the existing regulations, which deals with how children are treated and how their health, welfare and development are supported and encouraged, should have come into play in the context of the examination of various matters. The footage shown on "Prime Time" was disgraceful. I do not want to say much more about that matter because an investigation is currently being carried out by the HSE and the Garda in respect of the material broadcast.

I am aware the Deputy has published legislation but I am not yet in possession of a copy of it. We will be amending the Child Care Act in order to put in place stronger penalties. In the context of regulation, we should take the approach which has been adopted in other areas whereby, depending on the level of the breach involved, a variety of responses can be applied. This is what we are doing in respect of failures to meet the standards. We require a regulatory system which recognises the different levels of breach which can occur.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister initially stated that in recent years she has focused on the improvement of quality. She will recall that a number of weeks ago - prior to any reports on RTE television programmes - I raised the issue of quality in the context of the need to get matters right with regard to the initial free pre-school year before we consider the introduction of a second year. I am ad idem with the Minister in respect of the need ensure that we get matters right in the context of quality. Sometimes when listening to her, however, one would think that nothing was done in the area of child care in the 15 years prior to her appointment. I remind her of the huge investment that was made in order to put in place the physical infrastructure that was needed to ensure that there would be a sufficient number of child care places. I also remind her that a previous government was responsible for introducing the Aistear and Síolta frameworks and the workforce development plan and establishing the county and city child care committees. It is clear that work was done previously. In addition, the Minister alluded to section 5 of the existing regulations. It must be remembered that those regulations were introduced by a previous Administration in order to ensure that the health, welfare and development of children would be catered for in the pre-school sector. At the committee meeting to which I referred earlier, the Minister gave a commitment to amend the Child Care Act prior to the summer recess. Does that commitment stand?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, money was not invested in developing a national inspection system. Neither was it invested in quality measures. Both the Deputy and I have spoken about such measures recently. There is no doubt that money was not invested in a national service or in examining issues relating to quality. That is what we must do now. I accept that some work was done and that the Aistear and Síolta frameworks were introduced. However, there was no investment in the mentoring programme necessary to implement these. In other words, there was no implementation plan and anyone who works in the sector will attest to that. What is important is how we deal with these issues now and going forward.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Correct.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As I stated in response to questions posed at committee meetings, I want a mentoring programme to be put in place.

The Deputy also inquired about the expansion of the directorate and further recruitment. I am currently involved in discussions with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, in respect of that matter in order to ensure that there will be sufficient numbers of staff available throughout the country. There are gaps in the service and if we want to carry out proper inspections, these must be filled.