New research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found that extending the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) to childminders could reduce the cost for parents by approximately €100 per month.
The current legislation only allows users of Tusla-registered childcare to avail of these subsidies.
However, that is likely to change as the National Action Plan for Childminders has already committed to include these subsidies to childminders who care for non-relative children in their own home.
While a date has not yet been set, it is expected this could happen from next year on a phased basis.
This latest research by the ESRI shows that extending this childcare benefit to children cared for by childminders could cost the State between €35 and €122 million annually, depending on the take up.
It also predicts that if all current non-relative childminders register with Tusla and all eligible parents claim NCS subsidies, it will benefit 80,000 children by an average of around €100 per month.
Childminder care, which is typically unregistered, is the second most widely used form of paid childcare in Ireland.
The authors of this report indicate that the extension will affect more middle-income households than low or high-income households as children cared for by a childminder tend to live in households with relatively high disposable income and high levels of parental employment compared to children in centre-based care.
Karina Doorley, co-author of the report and Senior Research Officer at the ESRI, said the extension of the scheme to childminders will be very welcome to parents who use or want to use this form of childcare.
"The availability of high-quality, affordable childcare is a key element to improving gender equality in Ireland," she said.
The authors also assess the knock-on effects of subsidies being made more widely available across the sector.
They say it may reduce the demand for formal (centre-based) care that could alleviate some of the current shortages of this form of childcare and it may also reduce the financial barriers to women going to work.
The National Childcare Scheme was launched in November 2019 and has offered financial support to thousands of parents through the provision of subsidies, paid directly to their early learning and care or school age childcare provider.
The ESRI highlights how prior to it, parents in Ireland faced some of the highest childcare costs among OECD countries.
The current scheme establishes universal and income-related subsidies for children up to the age of 15.
