“Regulations should be introduced which will guarantee parents that all childminders operate to a code of professional conduct”, Councillor Paul Kelly (Fianna Fáil, Kildare North) has said.
“The regulations should also give childminders the support they need to work in confidence”, he added.
“There have been cases where parents for a variety of reasons have expressed unhappiness with individual child minders. Parents in such circumstances are unable to register their dissatisfaction.
“As it stands child minders are not obliged to register to practice. Under existing Health Board regulations, the only circumstances where obligations exist to notify authorities are where child minders are responsible for three or more children. With trends increasingly moving towards smaller families, this is unsatisfactory.
“There was a lot of concern recently that taxi drivers convicted of criminal activity - including serious crime – are not barred from acquiring a licence to drive a taxi. This system has clearly proven faulty, yet the regulation of child minding appears even less rigorous”, Councillor Kelly said.
“Every effort must now be made to put in place a transparent, well publicised, well resourced and accountable regulatory system for child minding for the benefit of parents and child minders alike.
“Such a system should involve all the various interest groups - the Department of Health & Children, the Department of Enterprise & Employment, Health Boards, Child Minding Ireland and parents representatives.
“Child minding has worked and continues to work well. There are a number of child minders doing brilliant work who, for whatever reason have not registered their activity. It only takes one less than professional practitioner to tarnish all child minders, and that would be unfortunate.
“Unless action in this area is fast tracked, it is only a matter of time before we get an incident nobody wants”, concluded Councillor Kelly.