Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Phase 1 of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, which is nearing completion, requires the amendment of primary legislation to enable childminders to register with Tusla; the development of new, childminder-specific regulations that are proportionate and appropriate to the home environment in which childminders work; development and roll-out of new, bespoke training for childminders; and re-examining the funding and financial supports available for childminders.

Childminders have been consulted on and involved in all aspects of the progression toward the regulation of childminders. The Steering Group for the National Action Plan and its four Advisory Groups – including the expert Advisory Group on Regulation and Inspection of Childminding – include childminders as well as representatives of Childminding Ireland. Consultation with childminders underpinned the development of the National Action Plan itself. The Draft Action Plan was based on the report of a working group chaired by Childminding Ireland, and there was extensive consultation with childminders – and parents – on the Draft Action Plan.

Work on drafting the childminding-specific regulations began in 2022. The National Action Plan for Childminding Steering Group reviewed and provided feedback on the regulation proposals developed by the Regulation and Inspection Advisory Group, and then agreed draft regulations for the purpose of public consultation.

The Steering Group also approved the development of a plan for the public consultation on the draft childminding regulations, as well as draft documentation for the public consultation, including an easy-read summary and the online consultation survey.

The public consultation was launched on 8 February and will close on 2 May. All information and documentation is being hosted on the Gov.ie public consultation website (gov.ie/consultations). There is also a direct link to that consultation webpage from the website for the National Action Plan for Childminding (gov.ie/childminding).

Childminders, parents and other stakeholders can take part in the consultation in a variety of ways. There is an online survey, giving an opportunity to respond to a number of different options for the regulations, as well as an invitation to make written submissions on the draft regulations. In addition, the City and County Childcare Committees are hosting focus groups at local level to explore feedback on the draft regulations in more depth. To date 10 focus groups for childminders have already been held, and a further 42 focus groups have been advertised, with more dates being added as demand arises. Of the 52 childminder focus groups, 12 are being held online and 40 are being held in-person. The City and County Childcare Committees are also hosting focus groups for parents: 9 of these have been planned and 5 of them are open nationally. The parents' focus groups are being held online.

The City and County Childcare Committees - including the Childminding Development Officers employed by them - have promoted the consultation through their mailing lists and social media accounts, and Childminding Ireland have also been publicising the consultation with their members. The consultation has also been advertised through the Facebook page of the National Action Plan for Childminding, with paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram to boost the reach to childminders and to parents who use childminders. During the month of February, there were 2,014 comments, likes, shares, reactions and saves to my Department's social media posts on the consultation. The posts also generated 1,707 clicks into the public consultation website during that month. Expenditure by my Department on promoted adverts at the end of February was €440. The launch of the consultation was also included in the Department’s Early Years Sectoral e-Bulletin.

The Steering Group and the Stakeholder Engagement, Consultation and Communication Advisory Group worked with an external communications company to develop an engagement and communications strategy for Phase 1 of the National Action Plan, including a specific communications plan for the public consultation, and the external communications company have been managing the current advertising campaign, creating graphics and monitoring reach. The total spending on the overall communications plan, including planning for the introduction of the regulations and the consultation, has totalled €40,046 ex VAT to date.