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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Apr 1997

Vol. 477 No. 7

Adjournment Debate. - Child Care Facilities.

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment, namely, the monitoring and regulating of pre-school day care services in response to the disturbing report in The Sunday Tribune which revealed shocking facts about a significant number of Dublin crèches where physical abuse, negligence, lack of hygiene, understaffing and overcrowding have become the norm. I congratulate The Sunday Tribune on its investigation.

The article told of some appalling stories, including force feeding of infants; children left all day strapped into chairs around a table; bowls, cups, spoons and bottles being shared by a large number of small children; and crèches smelling strongly of vomit or urine as a result of soiled nappies left lying around. It is an appalling catalogue of abuse.

I ask the Minister of State to outline the monitoring or inspection procedures that have come into place since Part VII of the Child Care Act, 1991, which deals with the supervision of pre-school services, was implemented late last year. I congratulate the Minister of State on bringing the Child Care Act fully into operation.

Ireland has always been behind in the development of child care services, despite research evidence from this country and abroad which indicates that high quality pre-school education can play an important part in offsetting the effects of social disadvantage and in preventing school failure, a point made by the Minister for Education when introducing the Early Start pre-school service.

I take this opportunity to praise the many excellent services that have provided high quality care for children over many years. We have a responsibility, however, to support couples who try to combine work and family life. There has been an increase in the number of families where both parents work outside the home and who are trying to grapple with the difficulties of caring for their children.

As the number of women in the workforce rises, the challenge of finding adequate and affordable child care is growing. The importance of helping people to reconcile employment and family life must be recognised. Women cannot enjoy genuine equality of opportunity unless they have access to good quality day care services for their children. This is a support to family life, not the contrary. The pattern of family life has changed dramatically and we must support it by our policy actions. A part of supporting the family is supporting quality child care.

Irish and international research on child care indicates that the three most important hallmarks of quality care are accommodation and equipment, personnel qualifications and the adult: child ratio. Unfortunately, The Sunday Tribune article shows that some Irish crèches and pre-school services fail on all three counts. It tells of 13 babies in a room with one worker, many facilities with no natural light and crèches in the Dublin area using students on placement from courses as though they were fully qualified staff.

We clearly need a strong day care policy for children. We currently have a system of notification but perhaps a system of registration should now be considered, given this evidence. I would like the Minister to outline the system of monitoring currently in place for pre-school facilities by the health boards, the people involved in the monitoring. How highly qualified are they?

A policy to promote good standards of day care nationally must be developed as a matter of urgency, in other words, a guide to good practice in day care. Co-ordination and a national policy on pre-school day care is essential to ensure we have quality day care for our children. Day care is often a lifeline for parents and children and we must ensure it offers our children the very best that pre-school care can offer.

I welcome this opportunity presented by the Deputy to make a statement on the regulations governing the pre-school sector. A number of conflicting statements have been made in the media in the past few days in this regard. I take this opportunity to set out the actual position.

The Child Care (Pre-School) Regulations came into effect on 31 December 1996. These regulations are the first of their kind in the State and give effect to section 50 of the Child Care Act, 1991, which obliges the Minister for Health to make regulations for the purpose of securing the health, safety and welfare of children, and promoting the development of pre-school children. The regulations apply to pre-schools, playgroups, day nurseries, crèches and other similar services which cater for children under six years of age. They will have an impact across the various sectors involved in pre-school provision, ranging from the voluntary provision for disadvantaged children through to full day care provision in the commercial sector. The regulations were drawn up in consultation with a working group chaired by my Department. The group also comprised representatives from the Department of Education, the Social Services Inspectorate in Northern Ireland, the health boards, individual experts, and representatives of the main pre-school providers.

Under the regulations there is a requirement on a person carrying on a pre-school service to give notice to their health board to this effect. This is a binding statutory requirement on pre-school providers. Penalties for non-compliance with the regulations are set out in section 57 of the Child Care Act, 1991. These include fines not exceeding £1,000 and prohibition from carrying on a pre-school service. Where a person contravenes this prohibition, the option of imprisonment is provided for.

However, it is envisaged that the regulations will be introduced in a co-operative manner with pre-school providers. Where a pre-school provider and/or the premises do not meet the requirements of the Child Care Act and associated regulations, details of the deficiencies will be outlined in writing and he or she will be given a specific period of time within which to make specific improvements, provided such a delay would not adversely affect the welfare of children. A further inspection will be made after that date.

A number of specific issues highlighted in an article in The Sunday Tribune on 13 April, including overcrowding, suitability of premises, sanitation and corporal punishment are covered by the regulations. I would now like to refer to the specific allegations made in The Sunday Tribune regarding conditions in crèches and childminding facilities in the Dublin area. I share the concern that I am sure all Deputies feel regarding these allegations, and I have had officials of my Department raise the matter with the Eastern Health Board. I understand that the board contacted The Sunday Tribune to ascertain the specific pre-school facilities referred to in the article with a view to those facilities being investigated forthwith. I am disappointed that, to date, The Sunday Tribune has not been prepared to give any identifying information to the health board and that, as a result, the board is unable to identify the services concerned and take whatever action may be required. I find this refusal particularly surprising as, on its front page under a heading, “Crèche Scandal”, The Sunday Tribune stated “The startling results of a special Sunday Tribune survey of a cross-section of Dublin's crèches reveal that in some cases the Garda should be sent in to investigate instances of physical abuse, negligence and shockingly dangerous conditions”. I hope The Sunday Tribune will change its mind.

While pre-school facilities will be inspected by health boards under the regulations, parents should also take steps to satisfy themselves as to the adequacy of the pre-school arrangements they make for their child. I am confident that these new regulations will help to further increase standards in the pre-school sector.

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