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.