Government ‘fails to clamp down on black market childminders’

THE Government is failing to clamp down on the increasing number of black-market childminders, yet is overburdening the preschool and creche sector with unending regulations, according to childcare providers.

The 600-member National Association of Private Childcare Providers (NPCP) has said creche fees are constantly being compared to childminder rates – some of whom they claim are charging as little as €3 per hour – while they face ongoing pressure to upskill more staff, complete more paperwork and pay rates and insurance.

The Office for the Minister of Children (OMC) said it is not in a position “to stop parents entering into informal arrangements with childminders”. Under the 1991 Child Care Act 1991, a person minding more than three preschool children from different families is obliged to notify the HSE of their childminding service. However, according to the NPCP, Dublin has just 20 notified childminders even though it has a population of one million. Limerick, with a population of 184,055, has 53 notified childminders, while Cork has just three notified childminders for a population of 481,295.

The creches have accused the unregistered childminders of failing to pay taxes and rates and of failing to observe HSE childcare regulations. The preschool sector has asked that they be given a rates waiver as they are educational establishments.

And NPCP spokeswoman Pauline Fox said the Office for the Minister is employing double standards in the area of childcare.

“While registered preschool providers and creche services are constantly being asked to increase the professionalism of the childcare industry, the black market childcare industry is flourishing. Providing a professional childcare service entails being stringently regulated. Services must employ childcare qualified staff that are Garda-vetted, have a 10:1 child/staff ratio, 3:1 ratio for infants and also maintain premises and be compliant with all taxes.”

The creche owners say that the recently-introduced free preschool year (Early Childhood Care And Education Scheme) has increased their administrative demands and academic requirements.

As part of the new ECCE Scheme, the OMC has requested that all pre-school leaders achieve a minimum of FETAC level 5 in childcare. In order to achieve the higher capitation of an extra €10 per child per week, HETAC Level 7 has been deemed necessary.

“It entails all of the above plus hours of unpaid administration work and planning work implementing the new Siolta/Aistear Curriculum, all for €4.30 per child per hour. Services must pay their staff holiday pay, regardless of the fact the Government do not pay providers for this.”

An OMC spokeswoman said it had “been to the fore in supporting centre-based childcare with a variety of grant aid schemes, which are not open to unregistered childminders, and in promoting the participation of childminders in quality and training programmes”.

“Prior to the rollout of ECCE, this organisation predicted that the scheme would be an unmitigated disaster. To date, the introduction of the ECCE scheme has been a particular success story in these difficult times. 94% of eligible children are availing of the free preschool year,” they added.