HOW TO HIRE · CHILDCARE & FAMILY · CHECKED OCTOBER 2026
How to hire a childminder in Ireland
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.
Childminding is the one home service where registration, Garda vetting and insurance all matter, and where the rules changed recently. Here is how to check that, what to ask, and what you are handed at the end.
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THE 60-SECOND VERSION
Hiring a childminder in five steps
- Are you registered, and if not, do you fall inside the exemption?Both answers can be legitimate right now. What matters is that they know which one applies to them and can say so.
- What Garda vetting do you hold, and when was it done?Ask to see it. A disclosure has a date on it, and an old one is not a current one.
- Who else is in the house during minding hours?Other adults in the home are part of the picture, and the rules treat them that way.
- How many children will be here, and what ages?The ratio decides how much attention your child actually gets, and it is also what the thresholds turn on.
- What insurance covers minding in your home?Public liability, and ask to see it rather than hear about it.
BEFORE YOU BOOK
Check before you book
Tusla Early Years Inspectorate — childminding registration
The childminding regulations apply only to a childminder caring for children in the CHILDMINDER'S OWN HOME.
Search the Tusla register of childminding services for the name or the registration number before you agree a price. tusla.ie →
Where the rules stand now
A childminder caring for 3 or fewer pre-school children, and 6 or fewer children in total, remains exempt for the transitional period. Registration becomes mandatory from September 2027. Registration is not yet mandatory for every childminder. Ask whether this childminder is registered, and if not, whether they fall inside the transitional exemption — both answers are legitimate in 2026.
Ask where they are in the process, and when they expect to be registered — the date is September 2027 either way. tusla.ie →
Garda vetting
National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012–2016 The regulation requiring vetting of household members aged 16 and over commenced on 1 February 2025. Vetting is carried out through a relevant organisation, not by a parent directly. Ask to see the disclosure the childminder holds.
Ask to see the garda vetting letter itself, with its date on it — not a statement that one exists.
Insurance
Expect public liability covering minding in the home; ask to see it. You are booking an individual for a set number of hours, so ask whether the ID has been checked and what the rating is from people who booked the same way — there is no company behind them to carry either.
Ask to see the current certificate of insurance — the insurer's name, the limit and the date it runs to.
VAT
No VAT: this service is exempt, so there is none to add and none to reclaim. A quote that adds it is wrong. An individual working under the €42,500 registration threshold does not charge VAT at all, and does not have a VAT number to give you.
Ask whether the figure you were given includes it, and for the VAT number if they are registered — Revenue publishes the rate for this service. revenue.ie →
A good answer: Both answers can be legitimate right now. What matters is that they know which one applies to them and can say so.
A good answer: Ask to see it. A disclosure has a date on it, and an old one is not a current one.
A good answer: Other adults in the home are part of the picture, and the rules treat them that way.
A good answer: The ratio decides how much attention your child actually gets, and it is also what the thresholds turn on.
A good answer: Public liability, and ask to see it rather than hear about it.
A good answer: There is no cover unless it is agreed in advance. Find out now, not in February.
A good answer: Get it in writing. This is the single most common dispute.
A good answer: No VAT: this service is exempt, so there is none to add and none to reclaim. A quote that adds it is wrong. An individual working under the €42,500 registration threshold does not charge VAT at all, and does not have a VAT number to give you — drop-In Childminder — provides occasional care for short periods, ideal for parents needing temporary assistance.
Booking by the hour
- The rate per hour, and whether it changes in the evening or at a weekend
- The minimum booking, and what happens if the job finishes early
- What they bring and what you supply
- Whether the ID has been checked, and the rating from people who booked the same way
- Insurance, where the work can damage something or somebody
- The hours and the list of what is to be done, agreed before the first one
Walk away if
- They cannot say whether they are registered or exempt
- No Garda vetting to show, or a disclosure years out of date
- Vague about how many children are minded, or the numbers change when you ask twice
- No written agreement on fees, hours, notice or holidays
- No insurance, or “my house insurance covers it” without checking
- No settling-in visit offered
What a childminder costs: €10–€15 per hour
Locufy guide prices for 2026–2027. Updated 2026. Childminder price guide →
Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.
KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE
Childminders near you, with the badges that matter shown
ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.
Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.
- Look firstSpecific services offered — the specification is agreed before any work begins — that is what the childminder is judging on the first visit, and a price given without it is a guess.
- Agree what is being doneNumber of children — the first few are the slowest; the rest go faster — put in writing before anyone starts, because it is the document you both read back at the end.
- The work itselfChildminder's qualifications — an established name can charge more because the diary is full — and anything outside what you asked for is agreed before it is started.
- Check it togetherComplexity of care required — the more the brief departs from the usual, the more it costs — walked against the written scope rather than against the feeling of it, while the childminder is still there.
- What you are handedThe itemised invoice and any guarantee on the workmanship and the parts, look for childminders with relevant qualifications, such as childcare diplomas or first aid certifications.
- Registration
- Being on the regulator's list, which brings inspection with it.
- Exemption
- Minding few enough children that registration does not yet apply.
- Social and Developmental Activities
- Childminders engage children in social interactions and developmental activities, which are crucial for their growth.
- Settling-in
- Short paid or unpaid sessions before full days start.
- School Pick-Up and Drop-Off
- Many childminders offer school pick-up and drop-off services, allowing parents to manage their schedules more effectively.
- Settling-in period
- The first short visits, usually unpaid or part-paid, before the arrangement starts properly.
AFTER
When the job is done
Hiring a childminder: questions people ask
It depends on how many children they mind and where. Ask the childminder which applies to them — registered or exempt — and expect a clear answer.
The work, what is not included, the materials where they matter, the dates, and the total with VAT shown as its own line. A figure with none of that around it is a price and not a quote, and it is the reason two childminder quotes for what sounds like the same job are not comparable.
No. It is obtained through an organisation, not by a parent, so ask the childminder to show you what they hold.
Somebody should be, at the start and at the end: at the start to agree what is being done and where, and at the end to walk it against the written scope before anyone leaves. A correction made on the day is a correction; the same fault found a week later is an appointment.
Expect public liability covering minding in the home; ask to see it. Ask who the insurer is and what the limit is, not simply whether they have it — the cover matters most on the job nobody expected to go wrong, and a childminder who cannot name the insurer may not be carrying any.
Raise it with the childminder first and in writing. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 a service must be carried out with reasonable skill and care.
MORE GUIDES
More hiring guides in childcare & family
Childminders near you
Sources — checked October 2026
- Tusla — childminding registration opened 30 September 2024
- Tusla — childminding services FAQs
- Department of Children — new regulations for childminding
- National Action Plan for Childminding 2021–2028
- Consumer Rights Act 2022
- Revenue — CHILDMINDING (Children and education) — Exempt
- Revenue — current VAT rates (effective 1 January 2026)
- Revenue — VAT thresholds: €42,500 for a person supplying services only