Written answers
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Childcare Services
Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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115. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress which has been made to examine and expand the access and inclusion model to make it available to younger children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32410/25]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) was introduced in 2016 to ensure that children with additional needs or a disability could access and meaningfully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.
In line with a commitment in First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028, an independent evaluation of AIM was undertaken in order to inform an extension of AIM beyond the ECCE programme as well as any potential enhancements to the model.
The findings from the evaluation were published in January 2024 and have informed the phased extension of AIM. Since September 2024, AIM was expanded beyond time spent in the ECCE programme for ECCE-aged children. This allows children to access early learning and childcare for up to an additional 3 hours in term and 6 hours out of term.
It is intended that over time, all children with additional needs registered in early learning and care services will have access to supports under AIM. As with the current AIM-eligible cohort, these supports would be open to children based on individual needs. The nature of the supports required for children aged 0-3 will differ from those needed for the ECCE-aged cohort. To address this, officials in my Department are currently designing a tailored model to facilitate the extension of AIM supports to children under the age of three.
Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether a childminder who is minding children in those children’s family home can register with Tusla; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32434/25]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My priority for childminding is the continued delivery of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028.The publication of the National Action Plan in April 2021 followed an extensive process of public consultation and research. The National Action Plan distinguishes childminding which involves care in the childminder’s home from care that takes place in the child’s home, which may be carried out by a nanny or au pair. This distinction is also reflected in the legal definition of a “childminding service”, set out in the primary legislation, the Child Care Act 1991, as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2024, as follows: ‘childminding service’ means a service that— "(a) entails an individual taking care, by himself or herself, of children under the age of 15 years, in the home of the individual, and (b) is provided to children (other than that individual’s own children) for a total period of not less than 2 hours per day."In line with this definition, a primary feature of a childminder is that they undertake the work in the childminder's home.The childminding-specific Regulations, which came into effect last September, are designed to be proportionate and appropriate to the home and family setting in which childminders work.The legal and regulatory context are different between childminders who work in the childminder’s home and someone who works in the child’s home (e.g. nannies and au pairs). For example, as au pairs and nannies work in the parents’/child’s home rather than their own home, they cannot be held responsible for the safety or suitability of that home for the purpose of early learning or childcare. Any regulation of nannies or au pairs would require a different regulatory approach.While my Department has successfully completed Phase 1 of the National Action Plan, considerable challenges lie ahead during Phase 2 in supporting the large number of unregistered childminders to register with Tusla and take part in the National Childcare Scheme before the end of the transition period in 2027. Given the scale of the challenge that still remains, my priority is to deliver on the remaining phases of the National Action Plan in the coming years.The National Action Plan does, however, commit to develop information and training resources in relation to nannies and au pairs. Information supports will address both legal requirements under employment law and advice for parents on what to look for in terms of quality of care and learning experiences that nannies and au pairs may offer.
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