Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad. I am always delighted when she comes in to respond to commencement matters. She dealt with two of my issues previously and both have been solved. I have said this to the Minister of State privately but I want to put it on the record of the House today. I raised the case previously of a woman who is an amputee but who did not have a medical card. Following the Minister of State's intervention, she ended up getting a medical card, she now has a new leg and her life has been transformed. I want to thank the Minister of State for that, which leads me on to today's commencement matter. I have great hope that the Minister of State can reassure childminders in Tipperary and across the country. Everything I am about to say comes from a place of worry and fear about what might happen next September.

Many childminders around the country are very worried about the changes due to be implemented next year. We have a myriad of different childcare settings in which parents entrust their children's care. While they all need to be held to a standard, it is important that any such standard is specific to the setting. Childminders play a key role in Ireland and if Tusla registration leads to a mass exodus from the sector, a lot of families will be in very difficult situations. Tusla currently holds childminders to the same standard as childcare facilities but this is in no way practical. Childcare facilities are businesses in buildings that have been built and adapted for the purpose of providing childcare whereas childminders working out of their own homes need to be dealt with on the understanding that their workplace is a home.

Staff in my office have spoken extensively with a much sought after childminder who is highly respected within the community in Tipperary. When she started working for herself, she registered with Tusla and went through all of the checks. She quickly learned that Tusla registration came with far more obstacles than she ever imagined. She deregistered and is now running a thriving business. Her story is not unique. Many childminders in Tipperary have similar stories and I have had countless messages from childminders about their experiences. I speak to parents and childminders on a weekly basis in Tipperary who are really nervous about what the upcoming changes will mean. The paperwork associated with childcare facilities is extensive and is far too much for an individual childminder to take on. Additionally, the ratio limits should be completely different in this type of setting. Again, we are dealing with a family home as opposed to a model setting.

Does the Department plan to implement alternative arrangements for childminders and to differentiate them from childcare facilities? Has there been ongoing engagement with unregistered childminders to find ways to keep them in the sector when changes are implemented?I have had so many contacts from childminders right across Tipperary who are very worried. I could read out 20 messages that I got from them but I will read one in particular that underlines their worries and fears. It is a childminder in Tipperary who sent me an email and message. She said:

I'm also fearful of them changing ratios or including our own children in the current ratios ... They did this with both early years & then when the SAC rules came in. If they reduce ratios they reduce our income which could mean closure for a lot of childminders in Tipperary.

I am biased in this in some way because I am affected, like most people who have young children. With regard to how many childminders we have in Tipperary and across the country, we need to make sure that we can keep these people, hold their positions, their companies and the work they do as best we can. All we are hoping for is that when it comes to an agreement with the Department, it is recognised and taken into account that most childminders are working from their own homes. It is not one of these facilities that have been built with a childcare facility image in place, where everything is done with that in place. This is really important because as the Minister of State knows, this affects families. It particularly affects women at work, and their ability to work. I know countless people in Tipperary who, if these childminders decide next week or next year that it is just not viable for them because of the changes we have made in government, then we are going to have hundreds of mothers and fathers in Tipperary who have to make alternative arrangements or have to give up work.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chair and the Senator. When I was in opposition myself, I had a vested interest with three children. I have used the whole array. I have done structured childcare and I have had the childminders. I like the flexibility of a home away from home. I liked the idea that it was not a controlled environment. That is why I am delighted that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, aims to publish draft childminding regulations early next year for the purpose of public consultation. To me, that public consultation is the key piece because we have the lowest number of childminders in the State. At one stage, I was so shocked to think that we have 4,200 registered structured crèche settings, and we had about 172 childminders. The Senator and I know that is not the case or the way it is.

The development of these new regulations has been under way since 2022 in line with the national action plan, and the process has been supported by an interagency advisory group reporting to the steering group for the national action plan. It is important that I point out that the Government also recognises that many childminders are anxious about the prospect of regulation and inspection. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has committed to ensuring that the new regulations will be proportionate, appropriate and respectful of the home and family setting that is so essential and unique to childminding. Furthermore, the new regulations will be introduced in a phased manner in line with the commitments in the national action plan.

Legislation to amend the Child Care Act 1991, which will remove the exemption of childminders from registration and regulation, underwent pre-legislative scrutiny in the summer and the Bill is currently being drafted. The amendment to the legislation will have to be enacted before childminder-specific regulations can be brought in. There is no doubt at all but that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is very conscious of the nervousness that is placed upon childminders. Both the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and I are very clear on the valuable role that childminders play. It is also important for parents to have the option to be able to avail of the national childcare scheme. The Senator talked about females but we also need to talk about the flexibility that childminders provide, particularly for people who are on shift work, or our nurses who have to be on shift for 8 o'clock in the morning and might have an hour's travel. Those childminders are open and available before 7 a.m. to assist, and it is the same way with late collection.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman and I are very conscious of it, and I want to reassure anybody who is making contact with the Senator to engage in the public consultation. That is what I would say. That public consultation will give even childminders who have left the structured system but who might still be providing the chance to tell us why they were fearful of participating in it. Their information and input would be valuable for us to understand, and to determine how the regulation could be set to acknowledge the role of how Tusla can engage and understand that home setting. I hope I have answered the Senator's question.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Absolutely, the Minister of State has, and that is exactly it. It is about public consultation, bringing it in on a phased basis and making sure that we reassure people working in that sector that they are being recognised. In the Minister of State's contribution, she said that the settings and the particular type of childcare they provide will be taken into account, and it will be proportionate. That is really important. The Minister of State gets it. She totally gets it, and I have full faith in her and this process. It is about bringing that sector with us.

Regarding people who do not understand the sector, the Minister of State outlined it really well. There are people working shifts and different things where a childminder is more beneficial than a childcare provider. Sometimes when they are talking, it is almost as if people who do not really understand the sector think that they are looking to have 40 kids in a sitting room, and they want no regulation. Nobody cares about looking after these kids and making sure they are protected more than childminders. They treat them as if they are their own kids. What they are looking for is a balanced approach, and I have absolute faith that the Minister of State will be able to provide that. I thank her for her response.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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In my final contribution before I read the closing speech, I want to say that I could not have returned to work or be in the role I am in without the support of a childminder. To me, it is very important that we get this right so that we can support more women in the workforce, more women who need flexibility, and who might even get into politics because we have unsociable hours.

Great care is needed in ensuring that we get the regulations right. The national action plan for childminding was itself underpinned by extensive consultation. The process of drafting regulations has been supported by the active engagement of childminders, and the public consultation on the draft regulations will begin in the new year and will be of great importance. It will also be important that we give childminders the time and support to comply with regulations. A pre-registration training programme is being developed to support childminders and to help them understand the regulations. The national action plan for childminding commits to a phased approach with an extended transition period during which childminders will be supported in engaging with the regulations and registering with Tusla.