It’s our children who suffer when State fails to properly regulate minders

SO now it’s official: childminders are the non-family childcare option chosen by a majority of mothers who go back to work in their babies’ first year. Childminders, who in Ireland are almost completely unregulated.

The Growing up in Ireland report found that of nine-month-old babies in Ireland who were not cared for by their mothers, 42% were cared for by other family members, 31% were cared for by childminders and 27% were cared for in creches.

There may be up to 70,000 children in Ireland cared for by childminders. There may be about 19,000 childminders.