Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that a special income tax exemption was introduced in Budget 2006 for those minding up to three children, who are not their own, in the minder's own home. Under the scheme, the relief may apply provided the earnings from such childcare do not exceed €15,000 per annum.

The rationale for the scheme was to encourage stay-at-home parents or those working part-time to provide childcare services on a small scale. It was one element in a suite of measures adopted by the Government in recent years to address the issue of childcare. Apart from the significant increases in Child Benefit, the relevant support measures included the Early Childcare Supplement of €1,000 per annum for each child up to his or her sixth birthday, a new five-year National Childcare Investment Programme which aims to fund an additional 50,000 childcare places by 2010, as well as extending paid and unpaid maternity leave. I have no plans to extend the tax exemption scheme as suggested by the Deputy.