Sir, - It was with great interest that I read your feature (October 14th) on childcare in Ireland. I moved here recently with my three-year-old son. We lived in London, and I returned to work when he was three months old.
Arranging childcare in London was a piece of cake compared with finding suitable care for him here. We got a list of registered childminders from the local council, along with information on how many children they were registered for and whether or not they had a vacancy.
Insurance (arranged via the council) and inspection certificates and proof of courses attended (also council-run) were offered by all the childminders we interviewed. In the end we selected someone who had raised four children herself, perhaps the best qualification of all. Standard contracts were available from the council and helped to smooth over any potential disagreements or embarrassment over hours, rates and holiday pay.
When we decided to move our son to a nursery, a list was available from the council. In the nursery, fire inspection certificates, evidence of council approval and nursery qualification certificates were proudly displayed, along with the children's art work.
Imagine my shock when it moved here and rang the local council and asked for the childcare section. In the end, the Golden Pages and a few days' knocking on doors around Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares found us an excellent nursery. I wouldn't have left a dog in some of the places I saw along the way.
One or two happily admitted that when the law changed, they would have to take on more staff but they'd wait until the last minute to keep costs down. Not a very inspiring thing to say to a mother looking for someone to look after her beloved child.
Roll on, more State interference in this area. Yours, etc.,
Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
PS In spite of the difficulty of Finding a good nursery. lam delighted to be back home in Dublin, after too many years away!