asked the Minister for Health the plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Working Party on Child Care Facilities for Working Parents which was published in March 1983 and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Child Care Facilities for Working Parents.
6.
My responsibility for the implementation of the recommendations of the working party relates primarily to the regulation and supervision of day care services for children.
I intend to make provision in the forthcoming Children (Care and Protection) Bill for the introduction of a system of statutory registration and inspection of day care services and for the setting of minimum requirements and standards for the operation of such services. I also propose to give effect to the working party recommendations that health boards should be empowered to directly provide day care services in certain circumstances.
In reply to a similar question in November 1983, the Minister indicated that the Children Bill would be circulated by March or April 1984, but it is not yet to hand. Will the Minister consider introducing regulations, if he has the power to do so, to control or regulate existing voluntary and private child care facilities as there are none governing these at present?
The control and regulation will be contained very emphatically in the Children Bill to be published next month and supervision and control will be substantial and definite within the framework of the Bill. At present in the health board areas there are 250 centres compared with 175 in 1982, a figure of 87 in 1980 and 30 in 1974. There has been considerable growth in this area and my concern is to provide more centres for disadvantaged groups, namely, mothers who are chronically ill, children from homes where parents must go out to work and are unable to make arrangements for the care of their children and in cases where parents are unable to cope.
In the report of the working party on child care services, recommendation No. 8 suggested that the health boards should establish pilot day care centres on an experimental basis in order to research and evaluate the best system. Have his Department given any consideration to that recommendation and do they propose to get involved in that area?
I have given every support to the health boards in this area. The number of requests from the Eastern Health Board has been surprisingly low although health boards spend about £1 million per year for 6,000 children in the 230 day care centres. That was the figure for 1983 and I am sure it grew substantially in 1984. I am quite willing to listen to the health boards, especially as far as disadvantaged areas are concerned, and that is where the money should be spent.