Rogue child minders could face jail

Childminders will face prosecution unless they sign up to strict standards of care and undergo garda vetting and home inspections.

These measures are part of the Government’s plans to regulate the sector, which also includes a range of subsidies for parents and grants and training for thousands of minders which will cost over €50m a year to implement.

Allowances of up to €900 a month will be available for parents using childminders from October as part of the roll-out of the national childcare scheme, as long as those minders are registered and trained to certain levels. Currently just 81 childminders are registered with the child and family agency Tusla out of an estimated 19,000 working in Ireland.

However, before a public consultation process even begins on the action plan to regulate childminding, it has emerged that those who continue to mind children in their homes without notifying authorities will face prosecution.

Department of children principal officer Toby Wolfe said it would be “illegal” for someone to care for a child in their home without registering with Tusla.

“Yes, once regulations are brought in, it will be a legal requirement to register with Tusla,” said Mr Wolfe.

Asked if childminders would be breaking the law if they continued to operate an informal cash-in-hand approach to minding children, Mr Wolfe answered: “Yes, they will face prosecution.”

However, these rules will not apply to relatives caring for a child in their residence, or nannies and au-pairs who mind children in a parent’s home. Guidelines for the latter two services will instead be produced as part of the consultation and action plan.

The department says parents can apply for allowances or subsidies, once their childminder is signed up to the new regulations. It is understood that subsidies for parents could amount to almost €900 a month, the same amount given to parents using facilities, such as creches, under the national childcare scheme.

Minister for Children Katherine Zappone said she expects the national scheme will begin in October. Under the plan, childminders will need to be garda approved, to sign up for specific courses and they could also be asked to ensure their homes meet basic standards.

Ms Zappone confirmed grants could help them do this, while they could also take part in training courses while still minding children.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 minders are expected to sign up as the regulations are phased in over the next two to three years, according to the minister.

The cost of regulation, training, subsidies and grants would amount to more than €52m a year if 10,000 minders sign up, the department confirmed.

Liz Butler of Childminding Ireland said members cautiously welcomed the move, as the department was in “a listening mode” with the consultation.

There were some concerns around how regulation may impact on tax requirements and standards for homes, but minders had sought regulation for many years, she told the Irish Examiner.

While the minister insists the state wants to support minders and ensure there is quality care, those caring for children have other concerns.

Minder Rosaleen O’Connor, from north Dublin, told the minister and department officials that the current €15,000 tax-free threshold was “unrealistic” for those in the sector.

Furthermore, expenses paid by minders in their homes should be considered and the limits on the number of children who could be cared for should be lifted, she said.

Some of these changes would help childminders earn a “decent wage” and “pay a mortgage”, she told Ms Zappone

Meanwhile, Ms Zappone also confirmed she wanted to give Tusla stronger powers to shut down childcare facilities over sub-standard care.

This follows public outrage over an RTÉ investigation into standards of care in creches.Tusla needed to have powers to deregister creches and childcare facilities “fairly quickly”, she insisted.