€1,000 per year payment for each child under age of six

AFTER months of speculation, Finance Minister Brian Cowen yesterday announced the central plank of his solution to the country’s childcare crisis as a €1,000 per year payment for each child under the age of six.

This tax-free payment will be made for all children, regardless of whether their parents work outside the home or not, and the first payment will be given in the middle of next year.

For working parents, there were no tax breaks in this Budget to offset the crippling cost of childcare fees which an Irish Examiner poll last month revealed to be an average of €700 per month.