Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise the crisis faced by a number of childcare providers, especially the smaller, independent ones, in my constituency and elsewhere. This relates to the fact that the Department will not accept the set of accounts from these providers that Revenue has already accepted. The Department wants much more detail and requires the accounts to be prepared by a chartered accountant, at an extra cost of between €1,500 to €2,500 per provider. These accounts are for 2022. One provider told me that a supermarket receipt from 2022 for about €28 of legitimate expenses now has to be broken down into how much was for cleaning products, toilet paper, crayons and so on, 18 months after it was submitted. Also, the Department will not align the accounts to the normal financial year but wants accounts from September to August. The practical solution would be to delay the requirement for chartered accounts until next year and to align with the current financial year.

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