The cost to employ someone to do the work performed by a stay-at-home parent would be around €54,590 per year, according to a new study.
The research is from life insurance and pension provider Royal London Ireland and shows the estimated stay-at-home salary is up from €53,480 in 2022.
The annual 'Stay-at-Home Parent Survey' reveals that more than 90% of people underestimate the monetary value of a stay-at-home parent with only 8% valuing the job at over €50k.
The survey of 1,000 adults estimated the potential salary of a stay-at-home parent at an average of €30,547 in 2023, an increase of €2,087 or 7.3% compared to 2022.
The study found that women are more likely to accurately estimate the value of stay-at-home parent duties.
In Census 2022, 272,318 people in Ireland recorded their principal economic status as 'looking after the home or family", 90% of whom were women.
Census data also shows an increase in stay-at-home fathers and a fall in stay-at-home mothers.
"Each year we ask the same question and each year we’ve found that most people underestimate the likely ‘salary’ of a stay-at-home mam or dad," said Karen O’Flaherty, Senior Propositions Executive of Royal London Ireland.
"While the role of the stay-at-home parent is often described as ‘priceless’, it is interesting to see how some people can misconceive the role of a stay-at-home parent and the financial cost," Ms O'Flaherty said.
As part of the research, Royal London Ireland examined the typical ‘everyday’ duties carried out by stay-at-home parents and researched the cost of employing someone to do these jobs using live wage data.
