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CHILDCARE · 4 MIN READ

Childminder registration: the 2027 deadline is being pushed back, and only 202 of 13,000 have signed up

Every childminder in the State was to be registered with Tusla by September 2027. The Minister now says the deadline will move. What registration involves, what it gives a parent, and what Budget 2027 changed for the minder's tax.

Niamh Ward · Freelance writer · cleaning and home
20 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
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A registered childminder may mind up to six children, no more than two of them under fifteen months. Photo: iStock.
A registered childminder may mind up to six children, no more than two of them under fifteen months. Photo: iStock.

IN SHORT

  • On 19 October 2026 the Irish Examiner reported that Children's Minister Norma Foley will extend the September 2027 deadline for mandatory Tusla registration of childminders, with details to follow. By the end of August only 202 of an estimated 13,000 childminders had registered; 878 had completed the pre-registration training.
  • Childminders mind about 53,000 children. A registered childminder may care for up to six, with no more than two under fifteen months, and registration is what makes a family eligible for the National Childcare Scheme subsidy with that minder.
  • Budget 2027 raised the childminding tax relief from €15,000 to €20,000 a year, and from September 2027 fees at core-funded services are capped at €550 a month.

What changed this week

The Childminding Action Plan set September 2027 as the date by which every paid childminder in Ireland must be registered with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, with a three-year transition that began in September 2024. On 19 October the Irish Examiner reported that the Minister for Children, Norma Foley, will extend that deadline, with the new date to be announced "in the near future".

The numbers behind the decision are stark. By the end of August 2026, 202 childminders had registered. Another 878 had done the pre-registration training. The Department's own estimate of the number of paid childminders in the State is around 13,000, minding roughly 53,000 children. At that pace the deadline was not going to be met, and a deadline that is not met turns thousands of ordinary arrangements into illegal ones overnight.

What registration is

Registration with Tusla is not a licence to mind children; it is a set of standards. A registered childminder may care for up to six children at a time, including their own under-6s, with no more than two under the age of fifteen months. Registration brings Garda vetting, first-aid and child-safeguarding training, a home-safety check, insurance, and the childminder-specific regulations introduced in 2024 rather than the crèche rules that were designed for buildings, not kitchens.

For a parent the practical difference is money: the National Childcare Scheme subsidy can only be claimed with a registered provider. A registered childminder also appears on Tusla's public register, which is the one place a parent can confirm that the person minding their child has been through the checks.

What Budget 2027 did

Two measures from 6 October bear on this. The childminding tax relief, under which a childminder's income from minding up to three children in their own home is exempt, rises from €15,000 to €20,000 a year. And from September 2027 fees at services in the Core Funding scheme are capped at €550 a month, down from €735, a saving of about €2,000 a year per child for families using a crèche. The cap does not apply to childminders, which is one reason registration, and the subsidy that comes with it, matters more rather than less.

What to do now

  • If you are a childminder: the deadline is moving, but the standards are not. The pre-registration training is free, and registration opens the National Childcare Scheme to the families you mind. Tusla's childminding pages set out the steps.
  • If you are a parent: ask whether your childminder is registered or in the process; look them up on Tusla's register; and if they are not, ask whether they intend to be, because your subsidy depends on it.
  • National Childminding Week runs 19–23 October, with local events on registration and supports, listed at letstalkchildminding.ie.

“Only 202 childminders had registered with Tusla by the end of August.”

Irish Examiner, 19 October 2026

202
childminders registered with Tusla by end of August 2026
≈13,000
paid childminders in the State (Department estimate)
6
children a registered childminder may mind, max two under 15 months

By the numbers — figures from the sources listed at the end of this piece.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Childminders near you, with their checks and score — no account needed to look.
Find a childminder near me

Questions this piece gets asked

Is it illegal to use an unregistered childminder now?

No. The transition period runs until the deadline, which the Minister has said will be extended; the new date has not been announced.

Can I get the National Childcare Scheme subsidy with a childminder?

Only with a Tusla-registered childminder. That is the main financial reason for registration on both sides.

How many children can a childminder look after?

A registered childminder may care for up to six children including their own under-6s, with no more than two under fifteen months.

FOLLOW CHILDCARE

One email a month — the childcare piece, the day it goes out. One tap to stop.

Comments 3

0 / 600 · Links are rejected automatically. Be specific, be fair. The rules
  • REAoife M.Customer · Dublin 8EDITOR'S PICK2 h ago

    Our minder has been doing the training since spring and still has not got through the paperwork. Glad the date is moving.

  • PRMarta R.Provider · Childminder · Crumlin1 h ago

    Registered in June. The home visit was the easy part; the forms were not. Worth it for the parents who can now claim the subsidy.

  • RECiara D.Customer · Cork40 min ago

    Did not know the NCS only works with a registered minder. That changes the sums.

Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.

More in Childcare

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BREAKINGStorm Austen: yellow rain warning for every county from 7pm Thursday — what to do before it arrives20 Oct 2026Read

CHILDCARE · 4 MIN READ

Childminder registration: the 2027 deadline is being pushed back, and only 202 of 13,000 have signed up

Every childminder in the State was to be registered with Tusla by September 2027. The Minister now says the deadline will move. What registration involves, what it gives a parent, and what Budget 2027 changed for the minder's tax.

Niamh Ward · Freelance writer · cleaning and home
20 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
A registered childminder may mind up to six children, no more than two of them under fifteen months. Photo: iStock.
A registered childminder may mind up to six children, no more than two of them under fifteen months. Photo: iStock.

IN SHORT

  • On 19 October 2026 the Irish Examiner reported that Children's Minister Norma Foley will extend the September 2027 deadline for mandatory Tusla registration of childminders, with details to follow. By the end of August only 202 of an estimated 13,000 childminders had registered; 878 had completed the pre-registration training.
  • Childminders mind about 53,000 children. A registered childminder may care for up to six, with no more than two under fifteen months, and registration is what makes a family eligible for the National Childcare Scheme subsidy with that minder.
  • Budget 2027 raised the childminding tax relief from €15,000 to €20,000 a year, and from September 2027 fees at core-funded services are capped at €550 a month.

What changed this week

The Childminding Action Plan set September 2027 as the date by which every paid childminder in Ireland must be registered with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, with a three-year transition that began in September 2024. On 19 October the Irish Examiner reported that the Minister for Children, Norma Foley, will extend that deadline, with the new date to be announced "in the near future".

The numbers behind the decision are stark. By the end of August 2026, 202 childminders had registered. Another 878 had done the pre-registration training. The Department's own estimate of the number of paid childminders in the State is around 13,000, minding roughly 53,000 children. At that pace the deadline was not going to be met, and a deadline that is not met turns thousands of ordinary arrangements into illegal ones overnight.

What registration is

Registration with Tusla is not a licence to mind children; it is a set of standards. A registered childminder may care for up to six children at a time, including their own under-6s, with no more than two under the age of fifteen months. Registration brings Garda vetting, first-aid and child-safeguarding training, a home-safety check, insurance, and the childminder-specific regulations introduced in 2024 rather than the crèche rules that were designed for buildings, not kitchens.

For a parent the practical difference is money: the National Childcare Scheme subsidy can only be claimed with a registered provider. A registered childminder also appears on Tusla's public register, which is the one place a parent can confirm that the person minding their child has been through the checks.

What Budget 2027 did

Two measures from 6 October bear on this. The childminding tax relief, under which a childminder's income from minding up to three children in their own home is exempt, rises from €15,000 to €20,000 a year. And from September 2027 fees at services in the Core Funding scheme are capped at €550 a month, down from €735, a saving of about €2,000 a year per child for families using a crèche. The cap does not apply to childminders, which is one reason registration, and the subsidy that comes with it, matters more rather than less.

What to do now

  • If you are a childminder: the deadline is moving, but the standards are not. The pre-registration training is free, and registration opens the National Childcare Scheme to the families you mind. Tusla's childminding pages set out the steps.
  • If you are a parent: ask whether your childminder is registered or in the process; look them up on Tusla's register; and if they are not, ask whether they intend to be, because your subsidy depends on it.
  • National Childminding Week runs 19–23 October, with local events on registration and supports, listed at letstalkchildminding.ie.

“Only 202 childminders had registered with Tusla by the end of August.”

Irish Examiner, 19 October 2026

childminders registered with Tusla by end of August 2026202
paid childminders in the State (Department estimate)≈13,000
children a registered childminder may mind, max two under 15 months6

By the numbers — figures from the sources listed at the end of this piece.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Childminders near you, with their checks and score — no account needed to look.
Find cleaners near me

Questions this piece gets asked

Is it illegal to use an unregistered childminder now?

No. The transition period runs until the deadline, which the Minister has said will be extended; the new date has not been announced.

Can I get the National Childcare Scheme subsidy with a childminder?

Only with a Tusla-registered childminder. That is the main financial reason for registration on both sides.

How many children can a childminder look after?

A registered childminder may care for up to six children including their own under-6s, with no more than two under fifteen months.

FOLLOW CHILDCARE

One email a month — the childcare piece, the day it goes out. One tap to stop.

Comments 3

0 / 600 · Links are rejected automatically. Be specific, be fair. The rules
  • REAoife M.Customer · Dublin 8EDITOR'S PICK2 h ago

    Our minder has been doing the training since spring and still has not got through the paperwork. Glad the date is moving.

  • PRMarta R.Provider · Childminder · Crumlin1 h ago

    Registered in June. The home visit was the easy part; the forms were not. Worth it for the parents who can now claim the subsidy.

  • RECiara D.Customer · Cork40 min ago

    Did not know the NCS only works with a registered minder. That changes the sums.

Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.

More in Childcare

All childcare →

FOLLOW A SECTION

Pick your sections. The month's piece arrives the day it goes out.

Nothing is pre-ticked. Choose one section or all 20; you get at most one email per section per month.

Show all 20

One email per section per month, the day the piece goes out. Stop in one tap. Privacy.