Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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561. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he intends to get Government approval to publish the Child Care (Amendment) Bill which completed PLS last June; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18808/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The General Scheme and Heads of Bill to amend the Child Care Act 1991 were approved by Government and published in April 2023. They immediately underwent pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) which resulted in a report with over 90 recommendations published in June of last year, each of which has been subject to consideration by my Department.

Since January 2024 the Bill is on the priority publication list for the Summer 2024 session of the Oireachtas. My officials are engaging intensively with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) on the priority drafting of the Bill.

In order to progress the removal of the exemptions relating to childminders and to allow the introduction of childminder-specific regulations by Autumn of this year, last week the Government approved a proposal to separate the Bill into two distinct Bills, as follows:

• a first Bill consisting of more immediate amendments to Part VIIA of the Child Care Act 1991, with the intention of bringing the finalised Bill relating to these elements back to Government for publication during this summer session; and
• a second Bill consisting of the remainder of proposed amendments, which arise from the Review of the Child Care Act, with the intention of bringing this second Bill back to Government for publication before the end of the summer session.