651. Deputy Daniel Ennis asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of people working as childminders in Ireland at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51225/26]

Childminders are a hugely important part of early learning and care and school-age childcare provision, and they continue to be the option of choice for many families. There is a considerable lack of clarity about the number of children cared for by childminders, and the total number of childminders working in Ireland today.

This reflects both the lack of administrative data on childminders not registered with Tusla, and the fact that the term ‘childminder’ in some surveys may be used either of someone working in the childminder’s home or of someone working in the child’s home (i.e. a nanny or au pair).

Census 2022 indicated that 15.9% (52,775) of children under 15 years who were in childcare were cared for by non-relative childminders working in the childminder’s home. The number of families affected is smaller than this, as many families have more than one child attending a childminding service.

A survey of Childminding Ireland members completed prior to the publication of the National Action Plan for Childminding indicated that on average childminders working in their own home care for 4 children, when both pre-school and school-age children are counted. On this basis, it is estimated that there are approximately 13,000 non-relative childminders caring for children in the childminder’s home.