Early Years Regulations

The key pieces of legislation, including the Regulations relating to Early Years (pre-school) Services, are listed below

Child Care Act 1991, Section 58 as amended by Part 12 of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013 (No 40 of 2013)

This Act established the role and function of Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate and set out the legal basis for the regulation, registration and inspection of all Early Years Services

Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 221/2016)

These regulations set out the specific requirements that Early Years (pre-school) services must legally adhere to. Inspections of services measure compliance against these regulations.

Child Care Regulations (The Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Amendments) Regulations 2016. (S.I. No. 632/2016)

This specifically clarified the employment status of people employed under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) in Early Years Services

Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 195/2022)

This enabled a streamlined process for the renewal of registration of Early Years (pre-school) Services and introduced a requirement for certificates of registration to be issued and displayed

There are also numerous resources designed to support services on the Early Years Provider Resources section of our website