The Revenue Commissioners are making huge money out of couples and childminders who decide to keep their working arrangements above board. Take the case of Jane and Brian, both barristers, who set aside £17,000 per year of their pre-tax income to pay for a full-time nanny in the home. Nannies and childminders are classed as "domestics" and their salaries are not tax deductible for the employer. Therefore, of the £17,000 which Jane and Brian set aside, £8,000 (42 per cent) goes to the Revenue Commissioners and £9,000 goes to the nanny.
Out of the £9,000, the couple must pay employer's PRSI and the nanny must pay employees' PRSI and tax. At the end of the calculations, out of the £17,000, the nanny gets £5,000 in to her hand and the Revenue Commissioners get £12,000.
With financial policies like that, is it any wonder that childcare is kept in the black economy and hushed up? But if you pay women very little for the work, you will attract women with low self-esteem who can do little else.