Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed by the Minister's response. I accept his point about casual arrangements which is why I referred in my opening contribution to local teenagers or family members. It was never our intention to include such arrangements. There is, however, a world of difference between that and someone who works as a nanny or an au pair. There have been high profile cases, in this country and across the water, where issues have arisen with nannies. It is important we find a more sophisticated way of dealing with this. That is why I regret the fact that all Stages of the Bill are being taken today. Senator van Turnhout has also expressed misgivings about this. I had hoped we could have agreed a wording that would have taken on board the valid points made by the Minister that the requirements should not be overly inclusive. Neither should it be beyond the capability of the Minister and his officials to come up with a wording that would include the people required.

That might need to be connected in a Government context to the introduction of regulation to cover particular people working in the child care sector. Proper regulation and a registration system for nannies and au pairs, for example, has been called for. Perhaps it needs to be connected with that. I had hoped that, at least if the Minister rejected the amendments on the basis of their lack of sophistication, which I accept, but he accepted the principle underpinning them, he could offer a way to provide for this categories of child minders. For example, we do not want a situation to arise where someone working as a nanny represents a child welfare risk and such a person simply moves to work in another home? That is dangerous and wrong and it should not be beyond the capability of the House to find a way to address it.