Childcare register - Bid to protect children is long overdue

PARENTS across the country will await with interest the outcome of a Limerick initiative aimed at setting up a childcare register to ensure children are looked after by qualified people.

This groundbreaking move is long overdue. While it is vital to avoid a witch-hunt scenario, the initiative is warranted in view of the alarming number of unregistered child minders in the country.

According to the Limerick campaign, only 700 of an estimated 37,000 people who mind children in their homes are properly registered.