Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2024
595. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason, in relation to the inspection regime, child care providers subject to multiple agency checks; and if he would explore the possibility of one agency carrying out all checks to improve efficiency for child care providers. [16445/24]
View answerMonitoring and evaluation of early learning and childcare services in Ireland is currently conducted by the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate (EYI), which is the independent statutory regulator for the sector, and by the Department of Education Inspectorate, which conducts education-focused inspections of early learning and care (ELC) services. (The Department of Education Inspectorate does not have a role in relation to school-age childcare (SAC)).
I recently announced, as part of the First 5 Implementation Plan 2023-2025, that my Department, in collaboration with Tusla EYI and the Department of Education, are beginning a design and implementation planning process to bring together the functions carried out by Tusla EYI and the Department of Education Inspectorate’s Early Years team into a single body that provides integrated care and education inspections.
This is part of the Government’s overall commitment in First 5 to have a robust regulation, inspection and quality assurance regime to enforce and raise standards by progressively reforming the ELC and SAC regulatory and inspection systems and strengthening quality assurance, with a renewed emphasis on self-evaluation.
In line with this commitment, a Steering Group (SG) is now being formed to lead the design and implementation planning process with the aim of bringing proposals back to Government for consideration in 2025.
Pobal Compliance, Audit and Risk (CAR) are responsible for carrying out compliance inspections of early learning and childcare service providers funded under the Department’s funding schemes. These inspections are separate to the quality assurance inspections and are in place to ensure that beneficiary scheme moneys are being used appropriately and that risks to Exchequer funding are detected and minimised.
