Childcare is a term that often invokes fear in the hearts of new parents. In today’s economic climate, it is increasingly becoming a necessity for both parents in most households to be wage-earners, even before considering the fact that women, who are traditionally expected to stay at home for childcare, are just as entitled to have career aspirations as their partners.
However, the expenditure on childcare is often colossal and burdensome, comparable to mortgage costs. I haven’t had to worry about these costs for some time now, but I vividly remember the impact it used to have on our family budget.
Several things haven’t altered much since my experience. Personnel in the sector are often paid a minimum wage, despite their critical role in nurturing children during important developmental stages. Furthermore, finding a reliable childcare centre remains a daunting task in certain regions.
However, some aspects have improved. The Government, under notable pressure from commercial entities, has recognised that exorbitant childcare costs (in spite of the minimal wages) are forcing people to quit their jobs to look after their children.
So, what options are available?
One of the main ones is the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme — a bureaucratic name for a scheme offering some amount of free childcare. This programme doesn’t cover all expenses though and parents will have to find ways to pay the additional costs.
According to the scheme, all children are entitled to a certain number of free hours with a childcare provider in the couple of years leading up to their enrollment in primary school.
From the commencement of September till June concludes, every day for three hours allows free care for children, running for five days in a week and spanning across 38 weeks (equivalent to 182 days). The eligible children for this programme must range from at least two years and eight months old (meaning the children commencing this service within this month would have been birthed in 2021) up to a maximum of five and a half years when they finish their second complimentary year.
Parents are obligated to enrol their child using a form that can be located here, which requires details such as the child’s complete name, birthday, Personal Public Service (PPS) number, residence eircode and also some information regarding the parent/guardian. This enables the service provider to register the service and receive the grant.
However, you may question, what happens during the remaining time and during the summer period?
Discovering strategies for the summer period is a task that parents with toddlers would need to adapt to. The early childcare timetable aligns reasonably well with the schedule you would encounter when your children advance to primary education. Moreover, the procedures are not significantly different from what you would handle at that time either.
So, whilst it doesn’t provide a comprehensive solution, it certainly provides substantial monetary support for parents coping with the expenses of raising a child. Some funding would still be assigned to devise solutions for those additional weeks and, for the remaining hours even whilst the scheme is operational.
National Childcare Scheme
An additional programme named the National Childcare Scheme exists. This was established nearly five years prior, and it offers supplementary funding to parents which can be acquired earlier than the preschool support.
This scheme operates on an either/or basis. Parents can opt for a universal subsidy that is accessible to all parents irrespective of their financial situation, or an income-based one where the amount you receive is contingent on your income, the age of your child and the number of children you have.
Parents can select the option which suits their financial needs, but both options are applicable from when the child reaches six months old (24 weeks) until they attain the age of 15 years old.
The National Childcare Scheme has seen a notable increase of just above 50% in the universal subsidy, beginning this month. It has risen to €2.14 per hour from the previous rate of €1.40 per hour last year. This hike is aimed at mitigating the financial burden of childcare costs for up to 45 hours per week.
A significant change this month signifies that the subsidy, including the income-assessed one, is also now applicable to parents who prefer home-based childminding services, as opposed to institutional settings such as preschools or creches. However, these childminders must be officially registered with Tusla and hold a contract related to the National Childcare Scheme from the department. Parents can verify the registration status of your childminder or creche on the department’s website.
Applying for this scheme requires the child’s birth date and PPS number that is now assigned at birth. An active MyGovID account is necessary for an online application.
Alternatively, parents having an income up to €60,000 can access a potentially larger income-based subsidy. Your assessment will generally be based on your earnings in the preceding tax year. Nonetheless, parents can request assessment based on recent income in case of a substantial reduction.
For the income-assessed option, the subsidy covers 45 hours if both parents are employed. This drops to 20 hours if either parent or any partner isn’t working. The family income which includes the earnings of both partners, determines eligibility. However, only personal income is evaluated if you reside with other adults, such as parents, who aren’t your spouse.
The net or post-tax income, including certain social welfare benefits, is studied under this scheme. Some allowances like the ‘Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance’ are excluded from consideration.
Furthermore, if a family has two children under 15 years, an additional €4,300 of income is disregarded. This allowance escalates to €8,600 for families with over two underaged kids.
Pension payments made in accordance with the stipulations permitted by the Revenue Commissioners, as well as any sustenance payments to an ex-spouse or offspring, are not included in the computation of your income. So, how significant could this income-assessed allowance prove to be? The universal grant can hold a worth of up to €96.30 per week if utilised to the maximum of 45 hours. This totals to €5,007.60 on an annual basis. Under the income-assessed option, the disbursement may reach up to €11,934 if your net assessable earnings fall below €26,000.
Should you be uncertain of gaining advantage from the income-assessed allowance, the National Childcare Scheme website offers a “subsidy calculator” tool to help determine your eligibility.
Childcare remains a charged issue in politics, so unexpected improvements in support might be forthcoming in the Budget 2025 on October 1st, as Finance Minister Jack Chambers and Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe present their speech. However, any advancements might not be effective until the same period of the following year, should previous procedures be adhered to.
Childcare costs in Ireland continue to be high, as any parent would attest. Regardless, there’s been acknowledgement due to increasing supports over the past years that parents certainly require some assistance.