Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

——must be carefully targeted to increase the amount of places. Questions of affordability may well have to be addressed and in that context the Government can examine various options.

Responsibility for pre-school regulations rests with me. The regulations have been in place since 1996 and marked the first time that statutory controls were applied to the sector. A review is almost complete and I will consider how the regulations have worked. There is a danger that if one regulated too far in this area, one may further restrict supply. On the other hand, essential child protection concerns have to be addressed. There is a difficult balance to be struck in that respect.

I note that one political interest has suggested that we should amend the regulations to provide that a person who minds up to five children at home should be exempt from them. That proposal is not as simple as it seems, however, because the current regulations permit up to three children, other than the family's children, to be minded in the home. That can already permit quite a substantial number of children to be minded in the home. To permit up to five children, who are not members of the family, would increase the size of this domestic-exempt crèche substantially, so that proposal will have to be examined carefully. Having said that, the public debate is welcome and valuable ideas are being put forward which will be examined.