Warning of childminder ‘exodus’ over plans to make them register with Tusla

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/warning-of-childminder-exodus-over-plans-to-make-them-register-with-tusla/a1856987253.html

Posted by Static-Jak

15 Comments

  1. AhhhhBiscuits on

    We just be finished with our childminder. Minders can register with Tusla, but in the whole of Ireland I think there is less then 10 registered with them.
    Due to the paperwork and everything else it’s very hard to do it.
    Plus with inspections, one minder was told they can’t have a day bed, yet another mind was told it is fine.

  2. ShoddyPreparation on

    The classic “if you regulate the sector even slightly it will mean the end of it” argument.

  3. Deep-Palpitation-421 on

    We had a childminder for 2 months when waiting for a creche place. What a shitshow. We had to prep and drop off his meals every morning with him, she had two high chairs parked in front of the TV and plonked the kids in front of the telly all day while she did her daily household jobs. Was delighted to get him out of there and into a creche.

    Am all for regulation. You wouldn’t want a unqualified tradesman servicing your can or gas boiler but feck it sure they’re only children. They nearly mind themselves

  4. wascallywabbit666 on

    Regulation is definitely required. Anyone can put their name on a website and start taking money to mind kids. No Garda vetting, no evidence of training, nothing. And there’s such a demand that they’ll immediately get work. Clearly that can’t be allowed to happen in 2024.

    The tax is also a key issue. We had our son with a childminder recently. She charged €60 cash per day per child, and had 5 kids every day. She worked a 4 day week. So that’s €1,200 a week, and if we assume 47 working weeks a year, that’s €56,400. And she doesn’t pay a penny of tax.

    A PAYE worker would have a gross salary of €85k to have a net pay of €56.4k. They’d be paying €28.5k income tax. They’d presumably also have to charge VAT. So if you consider all childminders you’re talking about a considerable loss to the public finances.

    Obviously childminders would charge parents more if they had to pay tax. However, one of the reasons for childminders to register is that parents can access subsidies, so there may be a net reduction in prices

  5. biggoosewendy on

    I’m a childminder and I love it and am hoping to register eventually. Tusla says I can’t be minding kids before I register so I’m not sure what to do. It’s my income, I’ve bonded with the kids and the parents rely on me so I can’t give it up, but I can’t register unless I unemploy myself.

  6. It’s a welcome step if executed correctly. There’s a huge demand for childminders as there aren’t enough spaces in creche and it opens doors for all kind of abuses

  7. SoftDrinkReddit on

    considering the shit Tusla has done in the past i don’t think we should be trusting them with anything relating to child minding

  8. Every profession is doomed to be made incrementally more regulated and harder to enter forever more.

    By 2070 you’ll need a Ph.D to become a shop assistant along with regular garda vetting and refresher courses

  9. Gran_Autismo_95 on

    My bi-polar aunt was a child minder. She refused to accept either of her 2 diagnosis, and never took medication for it. She should never have been let within a mile of someone elses child, let alone mind them unsupervised all day. Exhibit A would be how her own kids turned out.

  10. ha good job making childcare even more difficult. Not everyone wants their child in a crèche, this will just put childminders off.

  11. The supply of safe childcare (not even affordable safe childcare) is extremely limited.

    Regulation definitely required, but working parents need confidence that there is available childcare, and that currently doesn’t exist.