Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2025-11-12
============================================================

Mark Wall (LAB), Kildare South

I need not put on the record of the House how important childminders are to the childcare sector in this country. It has been the subject of many conversations we have had here. The Minister is right to say there are concerns among childminders right across the country as to what this new regulation will mean for them. Many of them are minding two or three children in their own homes and have done so for many years. There is a concern, a worry, as to what starting to fill out forms, etc., and registering will mean for them. What they are looking for from the Minister and from the Department is that they will be able to continue in all aspects with what they have done for years. They are the cornerstones of many communities. I need not put that on the record of the House either. There are concerns coming out of what is happening, including one provider in my county who has now been subject to rates, unfortunately. Will the Minister give that reassurance to those childminders who need it? If our childminders are not there, many working families in this country will run into so many difficulties in the coming weeks.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-11-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-11-12