I would like to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Disability Issues
I thank the Minister of State for being with us this morning and for taking my Commencement matter. I am asking the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clearly set out the current requirements for local authorities to provide work placement opportunities for individuals with disabilities, to detail funding that has been allocated to support this and to confirm whether all local authorities have complied with the targets set out in the comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities 2015-2024.
I believe this is a conversation about fairness, equal opportunity and the kind of public service that we want to build. It should be one that reflects the diversity and the lived experience of the community it serves. For too long, people with disabilities have faced barriers, not only in accessing employment but in being given the chance to demonstrate their skills and to contribute fully to society. Work placement programmes, particularly those delivered at local level, are some of the most effective ways of breaking down barriers. Across our local authorities, there is an enormous opportunity to show leadership by providing proper structured placements on programmes that support people with disabilities to gain experience, build their confidence and secure long-term employment. Many councils are already doing excellent work in partnership with community organisations and disability services such as AHEAD. However, to ensure equity and consistency nationwide, we need clarity on what exactly is required of each local authority and what oversight is in place to monitor the delivery.
I raise this question on behalf of a constituent of mine in Cork North-West who has been assured for the last 18 months by the disability officer of Cork County Council that she is on a placement list, but no position was has been made available. She has been fobbed off time and again and it is not good enough. This has been going on for quite a long time. She was told that she was on a list for a placement, but now, after 18 months, she has been told she should just apply for the open employment opportunities that are coming up with the local authority. To my mind, to her mind and to the minds of members of her family, she has been fobbed off continually for that period of time. I believe that if we are serious about improving disability inclusion in the public service, adequate funding must be provided, not just to create placements, but to provide appropriate supports, accessible workplaces, mentoring and training. This is why the details of funding allocations are essential and why I am asking the Minister to look at them.
Finally, I want to address compliance with the comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities, which set a clear and measurable target that 6% of public service roles should be held by persons with disabilities. As the strategy period concluded last year, we need a full and transparent account of where each local authority stands. We need to know if targets have been met and, if not, what steps are being taken to ensure progress. Compliance cannot be aspiration; it has to be achieved. These are targets that we set out and we need to ensure that we are compliant with them. It is about creating workplaces that are genuinely inclusive and ensuring that our public services live up to the values they promote. People with disabilities bring perspective and expertise that strengthen our institutions and when we fail to include them, we weaken our public service. We need to ensure that every local authority plays its part and that the goals we set out in the comprehensive strategy translate into genuine opportunities.
I thank Senator Lynch for raising this important matter before the House, which I am taking on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I hope the Senator is settling in well here in the Seanad. It is a wonderful forum. I was here twice - from 2002 to 2007 and from 2016 to 2020. It is a great forum to raise issues of national importance and local importance such as this.
It is important to note that, under section 159, of the Local Government Act 2001, the chief executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements that are necessary to carry out the functions of the local authority. Each local authority is an independent legal entity and an individual employer. Policy for the Disability Act rests with the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality and the National Disability Authority, NDA, falls under the remit of that Department. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible under Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 for the collection of data annually on compliance by local authorities with their obligation to meet the statutory targets set for the employment of people with disabilities. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage submits this data annually to the National Disability Authority and it is included in the NDA's annual report on compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.
The collection of this data is an important indicator of how local authorities are fulfilling their obligations to ensure people with disabilities can participate in the workforce. In 2023, the most recent year for which data has been published by the NDA, all of the 31 local authorities met the 3% target that applied in 2003. Also on a positive note, in 2023, eight local authorities met the 6% target that applies for 2025. While there is a very high level of compliance by local authorities, I believe there is scope for more to be done by all public bodies.
More work is required across the board on recruitment and retention policies and particularly on supporting employees to share their disability status. The National Disability Authority plays a very important role in providing support and guidance to public bodies in this regard.
The local government sector partners with AHEAD on the Willing Able Mentoring, WAM, programme, to offer paid and mentored work placements for graduates with disabilities. The local government sector was recognised at the WAM leaders awards in 2023 and 2024 for participation and support for the WAM programme, which aims to promote access to the labour market for graduates with disabilities. As Senator Lynch said, initiatives such as the WAM programme can help foster improved participation by persons with disabilities in the workplace and it is important that public sector employers lead by example in this way.
Senator Lynch stated her constituent has waited 18 months on the list for a placement and that she, the Senator, would like more clarity and oversight. I am not an expert on this but I would have thought that 18 months was quite a long time. I would not blame Senator Lynch for sharing these reservations. Chief executives are responsible for all staffing matters in local authorities.
I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter and I appreciate it does not fall under his remit. I find the reply to be quite disappointing. I know the statistics that all of the local authorities met the 3% target in 2023 in terms of employing people with disabilities and eight met the target of 6%. As of 2024, the target is meant to be 6% across the board. The figures are disappointing in terms of what we are doing to resolve this.
My understanding from what the Minister of State has said is that there is no requirement for any local authority with regard to these disability work placements. I note that perhaps I should have raised it as a disability issue, but as it was a local authority matter, I felt that was the appropriate Department with which to raise it. It is disappointing to get actual confirmation, as I see it, that there is no obligation regarding these work placements. There is the WAM programme, which is provided via AHEAD, and many local authorities participate in this and it has been very successful in some areas, but this issue is definitely something we need to look into. My constituent has been on this mar dhea list for 18 months and it is disappointing to see there is no actual scheme or accountability. I note the point that all employment lies with the chief executive of each council but this is something we need to look into.
I thank Senator Lynch for raising this very important issue and for her remarks. I agree it is important that we enhance the opportunities for disabled people who can earn a living to do so. It is important that we lead by example and maximise opportunities and access for disabled people to get meaningful work in the Civil Service and the public sector. The recently published national human rights strategy for disabled people from 2025 to 2030 recognises this and includes compliance with the 6% minimum statutory employment target for disabled people as a priority action. Senator Lynch has raised some interesting and informative views and I will bring them back to the Minister.
Road Network
Cavan is a largely rural county. It is divided into three LEAs, which correspond to the three engineering areas. Speaking to the engineers in these areas, they tell me there are approximately 1,000 km of local road in each area. Based on the funding they have received, when we take out the cost of repairing regional roads in the area and town centres, they have approximately enough to repair 1% to 1.5% of the local road network per year. One engineer told me he had enough to repair 15 km of local road out of almost 1,000 km. At this rate of going, a road repaired this year will not be repaired again for another 100 years. Roads are disintegrating in front of our eyes. When the council goes out to prepare a road for tarring, practically all of the culverts all need to be repaired. A huge amount of work needs to be done even preparing a road because it has been so long since the previous repair.
Cavan is a county that depends largely on agriculture, agribusiness and small and medium-sized enterprises. All of these contribute significantly to the economy, as do ordinary people who pay their road tax and cannot understand why they cannot travel the roads. I hear from carers who find it very difficult to get to the people they are caring for. Their cars are being destroyed. I hear from people delivering meals on wheels. I hear from school bus drivers who cannot travel the roads to get children to school.
The council prepared a comprehensive report, which it sent to the Department. It looked at the funding it has received for roads since 2008. It believes there is a shortfall of €200 million when account is taken of inflation and the fact the cost of construction has risen dramatically, as has the cost of construction materials. The money has not kept in line with inflation. If the council needs to break into land for the development of housing or enterprise, it costs a huge amount of money and this is not being factored in. In order for the council to deal with the housing shortage or ensure there is economic development in the county, more investment is needed.
Something has to be done. People depend on the rural road network. We are not going to be able to put public transport on all our rural roads. People need to be able to get to work, to their farms and everywhere else they need to go. As things are, the roads are just disappearing. It may not be different in other counties but in general in Cavan there is a very large network of rural roads and we need investment in them to ensure we maintain them. Cavan is a drumlin county and it has 365 lakes and a lot of rivers and streams. This needs to be factored in as well but I do not think it is. Has the Department of Transport looked at this and considered increasing funding to ensure the roads do not disintegrate further?
I thank Senator Tully for her question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House today on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I understand Senator Tully’s question is on the funding provided to local authorities for the maintenance of local roads, with a particular emphasis on the Cavan region. It is a region I am very familiar with as I represent Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal and, at one stage, I represented west Cavan. They are the same type of area and they have all had issues with local roads. It might not pertain in other areas but it is very important in Senator Tully's area.
As Senator Tully is aware and as outlined in the 2025 regional and local roads programme, the Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing road network. It is important to highlight that the improvement and maintenance of the regional road network is the statutory responsibility of each local authority in accordance with the Roads Act 1993. Works on these roads are funded from the council's own resources and are supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works is a matter for the local authority. There has been a significant increase in Exchequer funding in recent years, with an Exchequer investment of €713 million in our regional and local roads this year. This represents an increase of 25% in funding when compared with 2021.
As regards the basis for allocating grants within the budget available to the Department, grant funding is allocated on the basis of grant programmes and not on the basis of the category of road. The allocation of funding across specific roads or across categories of road is a matter for each local authority, having regard to the funding available to it from local and central sources as well as its particular priorities.
The main regional and local road grant programmes are targeted at specific policy objectives, such as restoration maintenance grants for pavement sealing to protect the road surface from water damage, restoration improvement grants for road strengthening based on pavement condition rating to lengthen the life of road pavements, and discretionary grants which allow for a range of activities, including pothole repairs, edge strengthening, renewal of signs and lines and winter maintenance. These three grant programmes account for most of the grant funding and are allocated based primarily on the length of the road network in a particular local authority area.
Apart from a requirement that 15% of the road strengthening grant is spent on regional roads, the allocation of funding to different categories of road is entirely a matter for decision by each local authority. In addition, basing regional and local roads grant allocations on road conditions could result in an uneven distribution of Exchequer funding. For example, local authorities that allocate higher levels of own resources funding to regional and local roads will have a larger proportion of roads with a higher condition rating than those with lower levels of own resources funding.
Basing allocations on road condition could therefore disincentivise local authorities from allocating their own resources to funding roads maintenance.
The Department operates the community involvement scheme, CIS, to facilitate local community participation on a voluntary basis in the repair of local roads. The focus of the programme is on the repair of more lightly trafficked public roads that might not be high on the list of a local authority's annual roadwork programme.
The Department appreciates that, within the overall parameters set for the regional and local road grant programmes, local authorities might need to target funding at particular problem areas and there is sufficient flexibility in the structure of the grant programme to allow for this. It is also open to each local authority to allocate its own resources to priority areas. It should be noted that Exchequer funding for regional and local roads is intended to supplement realistic contributions from local authorities’ own resources. As the statutory road authorities for their areas, it is open to local authorities to prioritise investment towards regional and local roads.
I am very familiar with Cavan. It is a rural county and we need to do everything possible and use whatever flexible ways we can to incentivise road repairs. I remember there were pothole candidates in Cavan when I first got involved in politics over 25 years ago. The road network has improved, but the cost of repairing roads has gone up. The Senator made a very valid argument that maybe we needed to increase the funding as well.
The Minister of State pointed out that the funding had increased by 25% since 2021, but so have the costs, so the increase is probably negligible. The council does prioritise roads, but it has to spend money on other aspects as well. It cannot put everything into roads. Repairing 1% to 1.5% of the rural road network per year is just not sufficient. It has to be addressed or we will not be able to travel on the roads if this continues on.
The Minister of State says that Exchequer funding disincentivises councils from putting in their own funds. They put in whatever funds they can into the roads. They try to be as imaginative as possible to get the funding together to spend on the roads, but it is just not possible. I understand that regional roads have to be repaired. They carry the most traffic and that is important, and no one is arguing about that, but it is no good if you cannot access your rural road to get to your regional road. It will not encourage investment in the county. As it is, we are a county without a rail service and with a very poor public bus service. We need to invest in our roads to ensure that people can travel on them safely and without additional cost or damage to their cars.
The Irish road network consists of over 100,000 km of road. While the national road network carries about 45% of total traffic, there is a very extensive network of regional and local roads. Regional roads comprise approximately 13% of all roads and local roads about 82% of all roads. This year, regional and local road grants were notified to local authorities on 14 February. Cavan County Council has been allocated €19.2 million, which is an increase of €1.7 million on its 2024 allocation. The Senator made a very valid argument, though. As a Member in a rural constituency, the same as the Senator, championing and fighting for more funding for local and regional roads is one thing we are always doing.
The Minister of State is going to stay with us for the next Commence matter, which is from Senator Sarah O'Reilly.
Road Network
I agree with everything that Senator Tully said. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber today, but I am disappointed that the Minister for Transport is not here. I have been trying to get a debate with him on this issue but he is proving to be elusive. I want to thank the Minister of State for engaging on this important matter.
I want to focus on a matter that affects every commuter, farmer, small business and family in Cavan and Monaghan, that is, the ongoing deterioration of our roads and particularly our rural road network. In my constituency, the condition of the roads is just awful. They are really poor. Anyone driving a tractor, lorry or bus in the area could be forgiven for thinking they are on a boat with all of the rocking and rolling, as well as the potholes, patched parts and sinking roads.
Earlier this year, I welcomed the announcement of an 11% increase in funding for rural roads in Cavan and Monaghan, but the reality is that this increase does not come close to addressing the shortfall in funding between 2008 and 2023. That is where the real problem lies. We experienced a €95 million shortfall in the road development and maintenance in our county during those years. That shortfall has never been replaced. At the moment, our roads start to crumble if we get a little bit of frost or bad weather.
I am sure the Minister of State can appreciate that, due to such a significant drop in funding for 15 years, carrying out maintenance is like papering over cracks. Government investment does not match the increase in costs either. In 2015, local authorities spent €48 million maintaining 361 km of regional roads. In 2024, despite spending €117 million, nearly two and a half times more, the number of kilometres maintained stayed the same. Costs have outpaced investment. This means that every euro buys less road maintenance than before.
How are the roads in Cavan going to improve when fewer kilometres are being maintained? When I started on the council in 2017, we were overlaying and doing maintenance on 23 km of roads in my municipal district. We did 11 km last year. I know that the funding is increasing, but it is not even matching the cost of inflation. Despite funding for the municipal district rising from €1.2 million to €3.5 million, the number of kilometres has reduced. Does the Minister of State understand that we have gone from 23 km down to 11 km a year? That is not good enough. That is a reduction of approximately 50% in the number of kilometres maintained at a time when the wear and tear on our roads has increased dramatically.
We have 1 million more vehicles on the roads today than we had in 2015. That is more cars, SUVs, lorries, and commercial vehicles. It will come as no surprise to the Minister of State that Cavan has the highest NCT failure rate in the country. The failure rate is predominantly due to steering and suspension issues. That is as a result of the poor condition of our roads. It is no coincidence that vehicles are failing where the roads are at their worst.
As Senator Tully said, people pay motor tax, fuel tax and tolls. The very least they should expect is a decent road surface to get to work on. There are roads in my area where school bus drivers, postal workers and delivery people refuse to go down because they are too bad. The Government is literally and politically patching over the problem. We need serious, sustained investment to address the backlog and restore our roads to a safe standard.
I thank Senator Reilly for raising this issue. I hope she is enjoying her stay in the Seanad. It is great to see people who have been on local authorities coming into the Seanad. I know that Members come from diverse backgrounds, but people like her bring that experience and knowledge in here. I can see that she is familiar with what is happening in her county and constituency. It is great that she can bring that knowledge here to the floor of the Seanad.
I was a member of my local authority when I got elected to the Seanad. The abolition of the dual mandate then came in. While I believe the abolition of the dual mandate was correct, it sometimes takes Members away from their local authorities. It is great to see the Senator here.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The Senator’s question relates to the number of kilometres of regional rural roads being maintained each year. As the Senator is aware, and as outlined in the 2025 regional and local roads programme, the Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing road network. It is important to highlight that the improvement and maintenance of the regional and local road network is the statutory responsibility of each local authority. Works on these roads are funded from the councils' own resources and are supplemented by State road grants.
The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority.
There has been a significant increase in Exchequer funding in recent years, with an Exchequer investment of €713 million in our regional and local roads this year. This represents an increase of 25% in funding when compared to 2021. The cost of doing the roads has gone up since 2021. There is a case to be made in that regard, and it is one I make myself representing Sligo-Leitrim and south Donegal. I come from Roscommon and we represent a bit of Cavan as well so I understand the issues.
Because of the pressures on the regional and local road network, the primary focus of investment is on the protection and renewal of that road network, which plays a critical role in supporting economic and community links throughout the country. The Senator mentioned postmen and buses. That is an issue we must be aware of. Funding for these grant types is allocated based on the length of the road network within a local authority's area of responsibility with some account taken of traffic. It is envisaged that grants will continue to be made available on this basis as it is the most equitable approach.
The Department appreciates that within the overall parameters set for the regional and local road grant programme, local authorities might need to target funding at particular problem areas. There is sufficient flexibility in the structure of the grant programme to allow for this. It is also open to each local authority to allocate its own resources to priority areas. In this context, the Department has supported the development of a road asset management system for regional and local roads - MapRoad - to provide the data needed for each local authority to manage its network as effectively as possible, including the prioritisation of works for inclusion in its maintenance and renewal works programme. The road pavement condition information generated by the MapRoad system forms the basis for the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, performance reports each year. In 2024, the Department provided funding for 3,038 km of pavement sealing on the regional and local road network and 2,256 km of road strengthening works.
It should be noted that Exchequer funding for regional and local roads is intended to supplement realistic contributions from local authorities’ own resources. As the statutory road authorities for their areas, it is open to local authorities to prioritise investment towards regional and local roads. I hear what the Senator is saying and I will certainly bring her very important views back to the Minister.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply but the response will be no consolation to the people of Cavan. Inflation has eroded the value of road funding and that has resulted in fewer kilometres of road being maintained. In 2022 and 2023, the price of bitumen increased by 62%. That is not being allowed for in the allocations of money from the Department.
Inflation is not an unforeseen crisis. It has been a consistent pressure for years, yet funding levels have not been adjusted in a way that protects the actual output on the ground. How does the Department plan to address the €95 million deficit in the years between 2008 and 2023? A decade and a half of underinvestment cannot be solved with minor annual uplifts. We are simply not going to see the roads in Cavan and Monaghan improve. That is the truth.
We need a commitment to restore the number of kilometres maintained annually to pre-deficit levels, as well as an increase in funding that matches inflation and meets the demands of our road network, which now supports nearly 3 million vehicles. This additional traffic also has to be taken into account but I do not think it has been.
Our vast and interconnected road network is essential to connecting people, businesses and communities, so we must continue to protect it. We have come a long way. When I was elected in 1999, the road network was particularly bad. I remember travelling on one national road and changing my tires every three months. We are in a much better place but the Senator is right that more needs to be done. She raised the increase in the price of bitumen, which went up by 62%. This has to be factored in. That is what this is about. That is what local authorities are about. They feed into the Department and the Department feeds into the Exchequer. When the economy is robust, there is money to spend. I believe that more funding should be allocated for local and regional roads. It is something I will be fighting for as well. I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue. There is more traffic on the roads. They are a lot safer than they were but we need to do more.
Childcare Services
I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad. He is no stranger to it. I think he said he served two terms in this House. I congratulate him on his recent elevation to Minister of State and wish him all the best in his new portfolio. I look forward to working with him in the next couple of months and, hopefully, years.
Home-based childcare providers across the country are deeply concerned about the new childminding regulations. Many have contacted me in recent months expressing real anxiety about the future of their work, which is essential to families and communities nationwide and rurally. That is a big issue for us.
Childminders are not opposed to regulation. They support safeguarding, high standards and accountability but they feel that what is being introduced resembles a centre-based childcare model imposed on a family home. They fear that the administrative burden, inspection regimes and associated costs could drive many experienced childminders out of the sector. If even a fraction of these providers step away, the impact on parents, particularly in rural areas, will be very significant. Families rely on the flexibility, continuity of care and, more importantly, affordability that home-based childcare providers provide. Losing those options at this stage would place real strain on households.
Childminders are asking for proportionate childminding-specific regulations that recognise the unique nature of care in their home. They need clearer and more accessible pathways for Garda vetting for all relevant adults, stronger financial supports to meet compliance costs and reassurances around privacy, particularly concerning the publication of their home addresses.
The three-year transition period is welcomed but it must be backed by a robust and genuine mid-transition review. This review needs to be transparent, responsive and a real opportunity to fix what is not working instead of tick-box exercise. Many childminders are feeling a bit unsure about what exactly they need to do over the next three years. Many of them tell me they are confused about the steps, the paperwork and what an inspection will actually look like in the context of a family home. I ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to engage with their concerns to ensure that regulations strengthen rather than undermine home-based childcare and to protect the vital services childminders provide to thousands of families in Ireland.
I hope the Senator is settling in well in the Seanad. A Commencement matter is a great way to raise issues of local and national importance. The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality would like to thank the Senator for raising this important issue and for offering her the opportunity to respond.
Childminding and childminders constitute a hugely important part of early learning and care and school-age childcare provision and continue to be the option of choice for many families. Ireland is one of the few countries in Europe where childminders are not required to register with the State. The national action plan for childminding 2021 to 2028 sets out a pathway for the extension of regulation to childminders and provides for a phased approach to regulation, with a preparatory phase followed by an extended transition period to allow childminders lead-in time for any requirements.
The regulation of childminding services is critical to the safeguarding of children.
In addition, a key objective of the national action plan for childminding is to enable parents who use childminders to benefit from State subsidies through the national childcare scheme. The Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides a statutory basis for the national childcare scheme, specifies that only Tusla-registered providers are eligible to participate in the scheme. The limitation of public funding schemes for Tusla-registered childcare providers helps to ensure that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision.
The childminding service regulations, which are specific to childminders, also came in on 30 September 2024. The childminding-specific regulations are designed to be proportionate and appropriate to the home and family settings in which childminders work. The regulations differ substantially from regulations on centre-based childcare. Childminders were consulted on this and involved in all aspects of the development of the regulations. Both the steering group for the national action plan for childminding and the advisory group on regulations and inspection of childminding included childminders as well as representatives of childminding organisations.
In finalising the new regulations, substantive changes were made in response to feedback received as part of the consultation process. In addition, an independent external review of the draft regulations was carried out by Dr. Bill Maxwell, former CEO of Education Scotland, former chief inspector in both Scotland and Wales and OECD consultant, which confirmed the approach was proportionate for childminding in Ireland.
I am heartened to hear that, in the recent survey carried out by Childminding Ireland, those childminders who have already been through the registration process and are working under new regulations report their experience as positive, with very few giving negative reports. We are now in the three-year transition period, as the Senator said, until September 2027, during which childminders are encouraged and supported to register, but registration is not yet mandatory. The phased approach aims to facilitate the largest possible number of childminders to enter the regulated sector, the sphere of quality assurance and access to Government subsidies while recognising the time and supports required for childminders to learn about and prepare for registration.
The Senator mentioned a lot of childminders were confused about the steps. I can totally understand that. These are people who will give all the time in the day like everybody in a lot of industries but when it comes to sit down to do the paperwork and so on, it can be tough and that is a normal thing. More needs to be done and there might be a need for mentors or something that can bring them through that process. I always feel that when they fill out the forms, it is probably more beneficial for themselves, the children and all concerned. A bit more needs to be done and I will bring the Senator's concerns back to the Minister.
I thank the Minister of State. I must get a copy of that answer from him, as I do not have it, but I welcome his verbal response. He mentioned positive feedback from the steering group. Obviously, not everyone will be happy with regulations that have to be put in place over the next three years. The cost side of things is still a real worry. For small, home-based providers, what seem like small expenses can add up quickly. The Minister of State mentioned that the Minister hoped to go back to the steering groups and childminding associations to engage with them again, as there is a bit of time left, so that everybody can be happy when these regulations are implemented and put into place.
I mentioned Tusla but that is for another day's work. I have my arguments with it. I thank the Minister of State and I really hope that we can come to amicable conclusions when this is over.
I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue. It is a priority for the Minister and the rest of the Government. The programme for Government firmly commits to retaining childminding as a valued and important part of the provision of both early learning and care and school-aged childcare. It states, "Childminding plays a significant role in the provision of early years and school aged care and should remain a viable choice for parents." The continued implementation of the national action plan for childminding is essential to the successful achievement of these commitments.
As the Senator knows, the key objective of the national action plan for childminding is to enable parents who use childminders to benefit from State subsidies through the national childcare scheme. The limitation of public funding schemes to Tusla-registered childcare providers helps to ensure that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision. The Government is fully committed to the regulation of childminding, which is critical to the safeguarding of children. The regulations are proportionate and appropriate and need to reflect the home and family settings in which the childminders work.
If everyone complies and fills in the forms, there is funding there for everybody that could help.
I welcome Deputy Tony McCormack and his guests to Seanad Éireann. They are most welcome.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 10.15 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.03 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 10.15 a.m. and resumed at 11.03 a.m.