Martin Browne
Ceist:518. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of registered child minders delivering the ECCE curriculum per county. [42191/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 3 October 2023
Ceisteanna (518)
Freagraí scríofa
Childminders must be registered with Tusla in order to offer the universal ECCE programme to children. Currently a large proportion of childminders are legally excluded from registration with Tusla, as a result of legal exemptions in the Child Care Act 1991, and therefore cannot offer the ECCE programme. The ECCE programme is restricted to children between the ages of 2 years 8 months at the start of the programme year and 5 years 6 months at the end of the two years. Tusla-registered childminders who are currently minding five preschool children can provide the ECCE programme, while all Tusla-registered childminders can also take part in the National Childcare Scheme. As of September 2023, 25 childminders are in contract to deliver the ECCE preschool programme. The numbers are shown, broken down by county in the table.
|
County |
Number of Tusla-Registered Childminders delivering ECCE |
|
Carlow |
1 |
|
Cavan |
1 |
|
Cork |
2 |
|
Donegal |
2 |
|
Dublin |
7 |
|
Galway |
1 |
|
Kerry |
1 |
|
Limerick |
4 |
|
Meath |
1 |
|
Roscommon |
1 |
|
Tipperary |
1 |
|
Waterford |
2 |
|
Wicklow |
1 |
The limitation of public funding schemes to Tusla-registered providers helps to ensure that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision.
The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 sets out a plan for extending State support and regulation to all paid, non-relative childminders on a phased basis, with accelerated access to subsidies for families who use childminders through the National Childcare Scheme.
The National Action Plan sets out a phased approach with a preparatory phase followed by an extended transition phase, to allow childminders a lead-in time for any requirements. This supportive, phased transition process aims to facilitate the largest possible number of childminders to enter the regulated sector, the sphere of quality assurance, and access to Government subsidies, while recognising the time and supports required for this reform.
Phase 1, which began in 2021 and is expected to take 3 years to complete, includes developing new regulations and training that are specific to childminding and amending the Child Care Act 1991 to remove the exemption to registration for childminders.