Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Government policy, including the National Action Plan for School-Age Childcare (2017) and First 5, the Whole-of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families (2019-2028) recognises that the use of school facilities that have suitable environments for early learning and care and school-age childcare should be maximised where demand exists and where it can be facilitated by the relevant school authority. This is also identified as a commitment in the Programme for Government.

Already, 14 per cent of all early learning and care and school-age childcare services in Ireland operate from school facilities.

The Department of Education has advised that the use of school facilities lies with the relevant school authority in consultation with the property owner and having regard to the needs of the school, staff and students.

The Department of Education policy is to encourage the use of school facilities, where possible, for community, training and education-related activities, including early learning and care and school-age childcare.

To assist schools in considering applications for use of their facilities, the Department of Education in consultation with representatives of schools has drafted guidelines on the use of school property outside of school hours which is available here:

www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-Reports/guidelines-on-the-use-of-school-buildings-outside-of-school-hours.pdf.

These guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive but are provided to assist schools in considering applications for the use of their facilities.

In line with First 5, the Department of Education plans to conduct a survey of a representative sample of schools on the use of school facilities for early learning and care and school-age childcare services. The results of this survey, which is due to commence in Quarter 1 2023, will be used to inform a review of the Guidelines on the use of School Buildings outside of School Hours.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

343. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if financial assistance can be given to parents who must avail of non-approved childcare provision such as nannies and childminders given the shortage of approved childcare places in certain areas of Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46646/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The availability of high-quality early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) that is affordable and accessible is a key Government priority.

I believe that childminders play a central role in provision of both ELC and SAC in Ireland. I recognise that childminders are highly valued by many parents because of the home-from-home setting, their strong and lasting relationships, and the flexibility they can offer. Many families prefer to use childminders, while for some families, in areas where centre-based care is either not available or its opening hours do not match the family’s childcare needs, childminding is the only option.

The limitation of public funding schemes to Tusla-registered ELC and SAC providers helps to ensure that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision. While only a small number of childminders are currently required to register with Tusla under the Child Care Act 1991, it is intended that the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 will result in the opening up of the National Childcare Scheme to a much wider cohort of childminders.

The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, which I launched in April 2021, sets out a plan for extending State support and regulation to childminding on a phased basis over the coming years. The overall objective of the National Action Plan for Childminding is to improve access to high quality and affordable ELC and SAC through childminding.

To do this, the Action Plan sets out an incremental and supportive pathway to regulation. This will enable more childminders to access Government subsidies, making their services more affordable to parents. It will also enable them to access a variety of supports to assist them in meeting regulatory and quality requirements. The National Action Plan for Childminding commits to develop new childminder-specific regulations that are proportionate and appropriate to the home setting in which childminders work.

The Action Plan has a number of specific objectives including:

- Enable a far greater number of parents who use childminders to benefit from subsidies under the National Childcare Scheme.

- Support quality assurance of childminders and safeguarding of children through extending the scope of regulation and inspection to all paid, non-relative childminders.

- Provide greater recognition of childminders and develop appropriate childminder regulations and inspection processes to reflect the home environment in which childminders work.

- Provide a supportive, phased transition process, to facilitate the largest possible number of childminders to enter the regulated sector, the sphere of quality assurance, and access to Government subsidies, while recognising the time and supports required for this reform.

- Support retention and recruitment of childminders.

Parents currently experiencing difficulty in relation to their ELC and SAC needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. Contact details for CCCs may be found on www.myccc.ie.