Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2023-02-09
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Roderic O'Gorman (GP), Dublin West

I thank the Deputy. Many childminders are currently excluded from registration and, therefore, from the national childcare scheme because of exemptions in the Child Care Act 1991. To bring all childminders within the scope of registration and the national childcare scheme subsidies requires an amendment to this Act.
Childminding offers many benefits to children and parents but until now it has received little formal recognition by the State. It has remained at the margins of funding, support and regulation, despite its many advantages and its continued popularity among parents. I know that many parents who use childminders are keen for these measures to be taken as quickly as possible, in order that they can benefit from the significant increase in national childcare scheme subsidies I introduced at the start of January this year.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:51:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-02-09