Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 February 2019
60. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the considerable implications that the new afterschool care regulations will have for schools and childcare providers; and her views on whether sufficient consultation was conducted with the affected groups. [7066/19]
View answerI signed important new Regulations recently which will come into force on 18th February. These Regulations will enable school-age childcare services to register with Tusla in time to take part in the Affordable Childcare Scheme when it opens later this year. This will make school-age childcare more affordable for many parents.
The regulation of school-age childcare is an important measure to secure children's health, safety and welfare. The Affordable Childcare Scheme will only be available to services that are registered with Tusla, a critical quality assurance measure associated with the provision of State funding.
Whilst the regulations are to be welcomed for their part in improving the affordability and quality of school age childcare, I am conscious of the impact they may have on providers, and I have made provisions accordingly. With regard to registration, existing services will have 6 months in which to apply for registration with Tusla if they are also registered as pre-school services. Existing services that only provide school-age childcare will have 3 months in which to apply for registration with Tusla. A person who proposes to set up a new service will be required to apply for registration at least 3 months before commencing the service.
The Regulations, including the minimum ratio requirement of 1 adult to 12 children, were developed following the advice of the School Age Childcare Standards Working Group, which in 2018 submitted proposals for school-age childcare standards. Membership of the Group included representatives from across the school-age childcare sector. In developing their proposals, the Working Group reviewed international evidence and practice. The Group was reconvened for a further meeting with officials in September 2018, during drafting of the Regulations, for consultation specifically on the adult-child ratio and outdoor space requirements. Their work followed that of a previous Expert Group led by the Department of Justice and Equality in 2005 which at that time recommended a ratio of 1 adult to 8 children.
I acknowledge that some services may require additional time to adjust to the minimum ratio of 1 adult to 12 children. Officials in my Department have had discussions on this issue recently with a number of sector representatives. As a result of these consultations, I have decided to extend the commencement date of the minimum ratio requirements by six months. This will mean that existing services will be given until 18th August to become fully compliant with these specific requirements, irrespective of the date on which they register with Tusla. I propose to sign the necessary Regulations to give this effect in advance of 18th February. The Regulations are subject to the consent of the Ministers for Education and Skills and Housing, Planning and Local Government.
School age childcare services will continue to be eligible for the existing funding schemes (CCSP, TEC, etc) until the Affordable Childcare Scheme will replace them. Capital funding of €1 million will also be made available to support the expansion of an existing school age childcare service or to set up a new school age childcare facility where demand is currently not being met at a local level. Services may be standalone or part of an early learning and care service.
Public consultation is planned this summer in advance of the development of a fuller set of Regulations that will replace the initial Regulations and cover additional quality objectives. The Comprehensive Regulations will set out minimum requirements for the health, safety, welfare and development of children attending school-age childcare services. A key priority will be the development of an appropriate qualification for the school-age childcare workforce. First 5, which was published in November 2018, committed to requiring that all school-age childcare staff hold a minimum qualification, with the level of qualification to be determined by the end of 2019.
