Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2366. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the engagement her Department have had with childcare providers to determine how to reduce the administrative burden on providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42042/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Work is well advanced on the Programme for Government commitment to reduce the administrative burden on providers. On 19th September 2023, plans to develop an Action Plan for Administrative and Regulatory Simplification for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector were announced, supported by a Working Group comprising representatives from the Department, Pobal and the City/County Childcare Committees.

This work is also being informed by an Advisory Group comprising providers, educators/practitioners and parental representatives. The group was convened in December 2023. The advisory group have met on seven occasions to date.

Indecon Economic Consultants have recently completed a review of the end to end processes linked to publicly funded early learning and childcare schemes and programmes. A report will be produced of the findings of this review. A report of feedback received from over 400 providers, representative bodies and other key sectoral stakeholders at a series of regional consultation events that took place in May and June 2024 is also being produced..

Further engagement with the Working and Advisory groups is now planned - and informed by these report, the Action Plan which will outline short-term, medium-term, and long-term administrative and regulatory simplification measures will be finalised and published in Autumn 2025.

Pending the finalisation of the Action Plan a number of features to reduce administrative burden for providers have been implemented in systems development for programme readiness for 2025/26 programme year allowing for cloning of existing service profile information to populate future service profiles and also for use in the annual early years sector profile.