2025-12-18

1. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will carry out a review of the regulations for childminders in Q1 of 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71885/25]

I raise again the regulations put in place for some time now for childminders and the many issues they are facing. We know about 150 childminders out of 14,000 or 15,000 have registered with Tusla, which is a small amount. Will the review of the regulations take place early in the new year?

As the Deputy is aware, the phase 1 report of the early years action plan, Shaping the Future, was published yesterday. It makes clear that childminding remains central to the Government's vision for the future of early learning and care and school-age childcare. The national action plan for childminding 2021-2028 sets out a pathway for the extension of regulation and supports to childminders. Implementation of that plan will continue under Shaping the Future, as I said at yesterday’s launch. The regulation of childminding services is critical to the safeguarding of children. I believe we all agree on that. The childminding-specific regulations, which came into effect in September 2024, are designed to be proportionate and appropriate to the home and family setting in which childminders work. The route to registration under the new regulations requires childminders to undertake a short pre-registration training course as well as meet certain regulatory requirements, including Garda vetting, proof of insurance, first aid certification and child safeguarding training. We are now in a three-year transition period to September 2027, during which childminders are being encouraged and supported to register but registration is not yet mandatory. This phased approach aims to facilitate the largest possible number of childminders to enter the regulated sector and sphere of quality assurance and access Government subsidies, while also recognising the time and supports required for childminders to learn about and prepare for registration. The Department has committed to undertake a review of the initial implementation of the childminding-specific regulations during the transition period. The review will include consultation with childminders and other stakeholders. It will provide an important opportunity to learn lessons from initial experiences with the regulations. As I have said previously, the review will commence in 2026. The timing of the review is crucial. In addition to hearing from childminders who have not yet registered, it is important that the review adequately captures and benefits from the experiences of those who have registered, been through the registration process and operated within the new regulations. September 2025 marked the end of the first full year since the introduction of the regulations. Those childminders who have registered need time to thoroughly test the regulations in practice. The number of childminders who have registered will impact upon the thoroughness of this testing also. We are in a three-year process from the introduction of the regulations to the end of the transition period.

I am sure the Minister will agree that the fact that just 150 childminders to date have registered with Tusla should be causing concern. It is a tiny number compared with the overall number of childminders out there. Childminding Ireland has been excellent in its engagement on issues with the regulations. One such issue I have mentioned to the Minister before is the regulation regarding having a close contact, that is, a person who will be available at all times. That is next to near impossible. Some of the regulations are unworkable, like that one. I have met childminders and been in their homes and the big issue I am coming across relates to the inspections. They are being asked to register with Tusla but they have no idea what those inspections will look like. These are their family homes and, at the very least, they deserve clarity in that regard. Many of us would not like a person coming in and going around our homes. They need clarity as to what the inspection regime will look like. They should get that clarity.

I wish to be clear: childminders are an incredible resource in the entire system. I know the value of them and they are particularly important in rural areas, like my area. We want childminders to be fully engaged but we also need them to be registered because we need regulation. I think the House is unanimous on that. We are within the three-year timeframe now and I have committed to carrying out a review, which will take place in 2026. It will take place as early as I possibly can and as close to quarter 1 as possible. I know that was in the Deputy’s original question. It will be as close to that as possible. It is to give the maximum benefit to those who have registered and those who will register within that period or timeframe. I hear many of the queries the Deputy has raised. I hear them too. There will be inspections, however. While not comparing like for like, anyone who has a family property and runs a bed and breakfast is subject to inspection in order to be registered with Fáilte Ireland. Childminders will have to be subject to inspections, but I hear what the Deputy is saying when it comes to how that is managed and what form the inspection will take.

We have to be clear; I have not met a childminder who has an issue with regulations. Most of them have first aid training, insurance and Garda vetting. They have much of it in place for so many years already. That is not the issue. Rather, the issue lies with the inspections. Inspections will form part of the regulations – we all know that – but it is about what those inspections will look like and the rooms in the family home the inspector will go into. These are details that childminders should have before and while they are registering with Tusla. Clarification like that would probably increase the numbers registering with Tusla because they are being asked to register without knowing the ins and outs of what they are signing up to. That is a mistake and it is probably why we only have 150 registered out of tens of thousands of childminders in this State. That should cause concern. I welcome that the Minister said the review will be as close as possible to quarter 1 of 2026. I welcome that because I am not making it up - I hope the Minister takes me at my word - that childminders are leaving the sector. We cannot afford to lose them. We need that review as quickly as possible in the new year.

I absolutely understand the anxiety that is out there. Change is never comfortable and I absolutely accept that. I hear it myself when I engage on the ground. I absolutely accept the Deputy's bona fides in this regard too. She has raised this issue on a number of occasions. I am happy to engage further. I said I would engage prior to the review and I will do that. I will hold the review as close to quarter 1 of 2026 as I can, but I will not give a firm date because things and timeframes can change. It is my intention to do it as early as we possibly can. I want childminders to remain within the system. They are an incredibly valuable resource. Many issues have been raised. For example, the Deputy raised the issue in respect of properties and all of that. I am conscious of that, but it does not fall within my gift. Rather, it falls to the Department of housing but I am also engaging in that regard. I am conscious of the issues that are there. We will begin the review as quickly as possible. We have until 2027 for the complete registration.