Childminding Ireland has said it remained unclear whether childminders’ homes would be assessed for commercial rates.
The national organisation, which provides guidance and support to childminders, wants an exemption on childminders having to pay the rates on their homes.
It is worried the introduction of any such charge may result in thousands of carers leaving the sector.
It comes after the home of a childminder from Newbridge, Co Kildare, was assessed for commercial rates last year.
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Margaret Donohoe’s home was assessed last October and she was later told by Tailte Éireann, the land and property agency, its evaluation has been passed to Kildare County Council.
She has yet to hear from the local authority about how much she may be required to pay.
Childminding Ireland subsequently wrote to Tailte Éireann seeking clarification on the issue. The State agency is responsible for property registrations, property valuation and national mapping services.
Commercial rates are property-based charges levied on commercial and industrial properties, providing a source of funding for local authorities.
In response, Tailte Éireann said the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 provided that early-childhood care and education facilities that were operated on a not-for-profit basis were exempt from rates.
However, it said the Act did not provide a general exemption from rates for childcare or childminding facilities operating on a for-profit basis.
It said a property “used partly as a dwelling to a significant extent and partly for another purpose” may be defined as a “mixed premises” in the Act and consequently may not qualify for a “domestic premises” exemption.
“As a matter of course,” Tailte Éireann said, it “examines all properties on their individual merits by reference to the relevant statutory provisions” and case law arising from the independent Valuation Tribunal and higher courts.
Mairead Hurley, head of childminding services at Childminding Ireland, said Ms Donohoe’s case was the only instance she had come across of a childminder being assessed to pay commercial rates on their home.
“We really don’t know what is going to happen. Childminders need clarity. If commercial rates are introduced for childminding homes, we are going to lose thousands of childminders. If there isn’t a U-turn there will be an exodus. It is a game-changer for a lot of people,” she said.
Ms Hurley said landlords might not take on childminders as tenants if they believed there was “any such complication”.
“That’s a big issue and a lot of people are renting. Landlords have to agree that they can childmind in the home before, for insurance purposes,” she said.
She queried whether there could later be a need for childminders to seek planning permission for their activities, something they did not have to do at present.
“It’s all these unintended consequences that we and childminders fear. The reality is the profit margin is so tiny for a lot of childminders. They might be only minding children for a few hours over the week. It all varies,” Ms Hurley said.
