Childminders should be allowed to increase the number of children they care for, the Department of Health (DoH) has been told after a consultation on adult-child ratios for childminding.
Currently a childminder is permitted to care for six children under the age of 12 but only three of those can be under compulsory school age and only one can be under a year old.
A registered childminder from Cabragh, County Tyrone, said she wants to be able to care for more younger children, specifically those under four years and three months old.
Theresa McCaughey categorised that age group as “under” and said spaces for them are “what people require most”.
She said as soon as an “under” space is available, it gets taken up quickly.
Ms McCaughey said those spaces made the most money and could help keep a childminder’s business running.
The DoH has been consulting on a possible change to adult-to-child ratios for childminding and earlier in 2025 it released eight different options for consideration.
The DoH said its preferred option would be to allow a maximum of two children under 18 months, but no more than three children under compulsory school age and a total of eight children under 12.
Theresa said it did not go far enough.
“That’s still leaving me with three ‘unders’,” she said.
She chose an option that would allow four children under compulsory school age and up to 10 children under the age of 12.
Joanne Marshall is a new mum and heading back to her job as a teacher in County Monaghan. She believes childminders could easily cope with an extra child under compulsory school age.
“I teach four-year-olds and have 20 children,” she said.
Johanna Patterson, who is also getting ready to go back to work, sends her daughter Martha to a childminder three days a week.
She would prefer the number was not increased.
“Three is a nice number I suppose because you know they are being looked after well,” she said.
Catherine Burns, mum to two-year-old Leo and eight-month-old Maggie, said it depended on the childminder.
“I imagine that childminders who are in that position and are wanting to increase their numbers have the capacity themselves and know what they can undertake,” she said.
The DoH consultation closed on 20 June.
It said 495 responses were received from a wide range of organisations and individuals and that the department was now in the process of analysing them and preparing a report for the health minister.
The DoH said the minister will then consider the next steps.
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