Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

301. To ask the Minister for Finance if consideration will be given to making childcare costs tax deductible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8330/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government acknowledges the continuing high cost pressures on parents, particularly those with young children. In recognition of these cost pressures, a number of support measures are already in place to ease the burden on working parents. These include various tax-exempted child-care related supports provided by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and measures such as the Working Family Payment provided by the Minister for Social Protection.

In relation to direct expenditure measures, Budget 2022 announced the introduction of a number of measures to support parents in respect of childcare costs, including:

- The universal subsidy of the National Childcare Scheme will be extended to children of all ages.

- There will be a change to the practice of deducting hours spend in the Early Childhood Care and Education pre-school programme or school from the entitlement to subsidised hours of care.

- A new Core Funding stream will come into effect from September 2022 which will require participating providers to maintain their fee levels at or below September 2021 levels.

This will ensure that the full affordability benefits of the National Childcare Scheme, and the Early Childhood Care and Education programme, are felt by parents.

With regard to taxation measures, and separate to the above:

- The Accelerated Capital Allowances scheme for Childcare Services was introduced to encourage employers to develop childcare facilities onsite for their employees.

- Individuals who provide child-minding services in their own home may claim childcare services relief each year, provided that they do not receive more than €15,000 income per annum from the child-minding income.

- Furthermore, a Single Person Child Carer tax credit of €1,650 is available as well as an additional standard rate band of €4,000. This credit and band is payable to any single person with a child under 18 years of age or over 18 years of age if in full time education or permanently incapacitated. The primary claimant may relinquish this credit and increase in the rate band to a secondary claimant with whom the child resides for not less than 100 days in the year.

In relation to the specific question raised by the Deputy, I do not have any plans currently to add to the measures currently in place by making childcare costs tax deductible.