Tax breaks to employ nannies urged
Kathy O'Dwyer of Job Options Bureau, an agency specialising in placing nannies, au pairs and parent helps with families and crèches, said the different demands of working parents were not being met.
The Government had to do more than provide tax breaks for the development of more crèches, she said.
"Many women in Ireland have jobs that are not compatible with nursery hours. Some cannot return to the workplace simply because the choice of childcare that they need is just not available or is priced beyond what they can afford," she said.
Fine Gael equality spokesperson Senator Sheila Terry said they favoured tax breaks for childcare costs and said that income-based childcare vouchers, up to a maximum value of E100 a week, could be used to supplement childcare costs. Another proposal being examined by her party was exempting the first E7,620 of earnings of registered childminders who care for children in their own or their employers' home.
From next April, middle-income families in Britain will get tax breaks for hiring registered nannies.
Tax breaks in Britain are currently limited to those using child-minders and nurseries.
The scheme will see thousands of families that earn less than E64,096 benefiting at a cost to the British Treasury of E17.6 million a year.
Ms O'Dwyer said nannies who work in Ireland were expensive and expected to earn at least E300 a week. In Britain, nannies are paid between E425 and E765 a week.
The Job Options Bureau, that has offices in Cork and Dublin, also places women, mainly from the Middle East, in positions as parent helps. As well as accommodation, parent helps are paid at least E7 an hour the national minimum wage.
