Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1676. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the plans in place to support and assist community child care providers to mitigate against the inevitable pressures which will follow the removal of community employment workers from the rota from 1 January 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41248/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, registered providers of pre-school services are now required to ensure that each employee working directly with children attending the service holds at least a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework or a qualification deemed by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to be equivalent.

In early 2016, my Department asked Childcare Committees Ireland (CCI) to lead on a national piece of work, with the 30 City and County Childcare Committees, to ascertain whether there were community services who were reliant on Community Employment workers to maintain the staff ratios and who would struggle financially when the new regulations came into full effect on 31st December 2016. This research indicated that the majority of services would not experience major difficulties as a result of this regulatory change, which had been notified to services some time in advance.

My Department, through CCI, is continuing to engage with services who are affected by this change and, in cases were challenges have been identified, CCI is working with these services to finalise business plans that will enable them to continue to provide service, in compliance with the childcare regulations.