The new body in the Republic to inspect childcare services will be headed by a senior figure from Northern Ireland's child protection services.
An assistant chief inspector from the North's Social Service Inspectorate, Mr Victor McElfatrick, has been asked to oversee the setting up of the Social Service Inspectorate.
The Government decided to set up the inspectorate last year, following the identification of problems by inquiries like that into the Kilkenny Incest case, the death of Kelly Fitzgerald and the Madonna House scandal.
The position of chief inspector was advertised last year, but a candidate with the right experience was not found.
As a result the Minister of State for Children, Mr Frank Fahey, sought the help of the Northern inspectorate. He said the department had got help from Northern Ireland in drawing up the recent child abuse guidelines.
Mr McElfatrick has been appointed acting director of the inspectorate for a year, on a consultancy basis, starting on April 1st. He will help to recruit and train three inspectors and to develop a work programme.
Mr Fahey said this inspectorate had been his main priority and it had been delayed by the need to increase staffing in the childcare services from 10 to 27.
The inspectorate's main role would be to look at standards in residential childcare and establish a benchmark for all health board areas.
He said people in the voluntary sector and the health boards were doing an extremely good job with limited resources. "I'd be the first to acknowledge that the problem was more at Government level than on the ground. Improvements will only come about through investment."
While the inspectorate is being set up on an administrative basis, it will be put on a statutory basis later, he said, and its remit would eventually include the voluntary sector.
He pointed out that residential homes in the voluntary sector were tied up with the public sector through the health boards. The inspectorate would also be involved with other departments, like Education, in such areas as the provision of cure care for disturbed children.
He said the next stage in implementing his plan for children's services would be a children's ombudsman.
The Local Appointments Commission had had some excellent candidates for the top inspectorate position, he said, but no one with the necessary experience. "I hope some of these applicants will apply for the inspector posts," he said.
He committed himself to increased spending on childcare services, pointing out that when structures had been put in place in Northern Ireland the money had followed.
However, he stressed that this would not go into more residential homes but towards the enhancement of fostering. "Significant extra money will go into foster care. There will be a national recruitment campaign. I will be making an announcement shortly about taking children out of secure units and putting them into foster care with high-support day-care. Foster-care allowances will be increased every year."
Mr McElfatrick said the Northern inspectorate had been in existence for 15 or 16 years, and had a "fair bit" of experience of inspection. He was especially interested in establishing a benchmark which could apply across the board.
He would have a role in developing the inspectorate and recruiting and training inspectors. "I will be particularly interested in taking the views of children and parents."