Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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418. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when he will commence the new registration process and if he is satisfied that all services will be registered through this process, as previously advised, by the end of 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29915/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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A key priority of the Government is to ensure that quality early years services are available to pre-school children. My Department is progressing the Early Years Quality Agenda which represents a programme of measures to support, monitor and regulate the improvement of quality standards in pre-school services in Ireland. A key element of the Agenda is to strengthen the national early years regulatory regime. This will result in a change of practice in a number of areas relating to early years inspections.

Responsibility for the inspection of early years services transferred from the Health Service Executive (HSE) to the Child and Family Agency in January 2014. Legislative amendments under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 strengthen the current inspection regime and provide a statutory basis for the registration of early years services. New Child Care Regulations giving effect to the legislative changes are expected to be published shortly. The new registration system will require that anyone seeking to open an early years service must register with the Agency prior to the facility being opened. The proposed facility will then be inspected to ensure that it meets all the necessary criteria before registration is granted. Ongoing inspections will be carried out after the service has become operational and children are attending.

The legislation also provides for increased sanctions for service providers who do not comply with the Child Care Regulations. The Agency will also be in a position to refuse to register a service provider, to remove a provider from the register, or to attach conditions to the registration of a provider.

In order to provide for the implementation of the changes included in the new legislation, it was necessary to carry out a root and branch re-examination of the existing Child Care Regulations, including a restructuring of the regulations and associated guidance in line with the latest drafting practices. This proved more time-consuming than originally envisaged. Officials in my Department are working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to develop a comprehensive draft of the new regulations, and I hope to publish the new regulations shortly.

Under the new legislation, all childcare services notified to the HSE at 1 January 2014 are deemed to be registered for a period of three years from that date. All such services will be required to apply for re-registration at that stage, and all of the new legislative provisions and revised regulations will apply to those services.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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419. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when he will publish the new early years regulations. [29916/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Pre-school services are subject to the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No.2) Regulations 2006, as provided for under Part VII of the Child Care Act, 1991.

The Deputy may be aware that my Department is progressing the Early Years Quality Agenda which introduces a number of key of reforms that provide for the further development of the childcare sector. To underpin these reforms, it was necessary to amend the Child Care Act, 1991 and these legislative changes were enacted through the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013.

To provide for the implementation of the changes, it was necessary to carry out a root and branch re-examination of the existing regulations including a restructuring of the regulations and guidance content in line with the latest drafting practices. This proved more time consuming than originally envisaged. Officials in my Department are working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to develop a comprehensive draft of the new regulations, and I hope to publish the new regulations shortly.