Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

When I introduced this measure in the Finance Act 2006, the limit was set at €10,000. I increased it by 50% last year to €15,000, but there was not much of a take-up, for a number of reasons. Although the relief was always targeted at small-scale child care operations, I felt at the time that €15,000 was a more realistic figure, given the costs of child care. The tax returns for the first year only reached Revenue last October for the €10,000 limit. It will be October 2008 before we have any additional information about the 2007 tax year. That said, I am not aware of any complaints that the current levels are set too low. We should prefer to see how the scheme operates over a number of years before deciding whether a further increase ought to be considered or regarded as having merit.

If clarification is needed, the limit is three children at any one time. A person could mind three in the morning and three different children in the afternoon and still be within the scheme. If there are more than three children, the child minder must be registered. If there are three or less he or she is only required to notify the authorities. Children do not have to be minded full-time in order for the particular exemption to be availed of under this code in an effort, as Deputy Burton said, to provide the widest range of choice possible as formal and informal options that best suit parents who want to have their children looked after for any period of time during the course of the day. For that reason I cannot accept the amendment.

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