Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

From discussions I have had recently with childminders who mind children and provide a service in their own homes, while they accept the need for change and have no difficulty with it, there is a certain scepticism and difficulty with this Bill. They fear being overburdened with regulation. One person I spoke to asked whether visitors coming to their home would have to be vetted. Those types of issues are alien to many of us who grew up in an environment where people lived in each other's pockets in local communities and often stayed with and were looked after by neighbours. That sort of thing happened on an ad hoc basis in my communities, but it was to the betterment of those communities. We do not want a situation in which people feel they are constrained in any way if they offer a service to look after children in their local community. While the Bill opens up the possibility that people will have the option of getting some compensation and an element of recognition, if it is going to drive more people out of the business, it will fail. That needs to be recognised.

I acknowledge the Bill is at an early stage and has a distance to travel. I hope the Minister and Department will be open to amendments which deal with these issues. The biggest issue I have come across, which other contributors have mentioned, is the need for adequate consultation with people involved in providing the service and to ensure that consultation is open-ended and seeks to assist people in moving into the correct space. Many people fear over-regulation when this authority comes into play. We have all dealt with Tusla at various times. While it does a wonderful job and is often the first line of defence when it comes to protecting children, children's rights and so forth, people sometimes fear the way it can deal with things and how strict and black and white it can see things. That needs to be recognised in this context.

I hope the Minister recognises that the legislation as presented is far from the finished product. We need to understand that. Whether they are proposed by the Opposition or, when we see the outcome of the consultation, the Minister, we hope the Minister will be open to changes to ensure people can find a way to embrace this legislation and find more people who prefer to look after children in the home setting. So far, all the difficulties we have had in our childcare process have been in the corporate sector, not the childminding sector. Unfortunately, this legislation would throw a blanket over both. That must be acknowledged. There have to be changes to the legislation as presented. I hope that will happen through the process as we move forward.

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