Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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210. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has engaged with childminders regarding their concerns about increased regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6258/23]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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232. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the consultation he is having with an organisation (details supplied) to support an affordable childcare scheme in service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6416/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 210 and 232 together.

The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 commits to develop new, childminder-specific, regulations that are proportionate and appropriate to the home environment and the family setting in which childminders work. This is a necessary step in enabling non-relative childminders to register with Tusla and take part in the National Childcare Scheme, thus allowing parents who use childminders to access subsidies. I am very conscious that the drafting of new regulations needs considerable care in order to get this right, and needs engagement with childminders themselves.

That is why I have ensured there are childminders on the Steering Group for the National Action Plan as well as on all four Advisory Groups, including the expert Advisory Group on Regulation and Inspection of Childminding. And that is also why engagement and consultation with childminders has been key to the process of bringing childminders into the scope of regulation ever since work on this began in 2016, when the Government established a working group on reform and asked Childminding Ireland to chair it.

As part of its work, the Working Group carried out a consultation with childminders through a survey of Childminding Ireland members and a discussion day that allowed more in-depth discussions with childminders from around the country. The Working Group’s report was published in March 2018, and a Draft Childminding Action Plan was published in 2019, for the purpose of public consultation.

The consultation on the Draft Childminding Action Plan took place in the second half of 2019. The consultation process included: an online survey, of which the majority of respondents were childminders; focus groups with childminders, in which a total of 205 childminders took part; and an open policy debate hosted by my Department to which key stakeholders, including childminders and groups representing childminders, were invited. The findings of the consultation process (which are published on my Department's website) informed the development of the National Action Plan for Childminding.

Consultation with childminders and parents will continue this year as we work on drafting the new regulations. I acknowledge that positive engagement with childminders at local level will be critical to success. An Advisory Group on Consultation and Communications has been formed to support the other Advisory Groups to ensure that proposals they make are underpinned by public consultation. Consultations over the coming months will include a series of focus groups with childminders, exploring aspects of aspects of the new regulations that are to be developed.

In addition, the organisation referred to in the Deputy's question, which represents childminders, is a member of the Steering and Advisory Groups. Officials in my Department continue to work closely with the organisation, engaging on a regular basis. Last month I met with members of the organisation, to listen to their concerns and to address any reservations they might have regarding the development of the new regulations. Their participation is very welcome as I believe that active engagement and consultation with childminders and their representatives will be key to the success of the National Action Plan.