Childminders should not have their homes assessed for commercial rates, Minister for Children Norma Foley has said.
Foley said she has raised the issue with the Minister for Housing James Browne, adding her view was “clear”.
“There isn’t, and I think there needs to be, absolute clarity around it. We’re trying to seek that clarity ourselves,” she said on Wednesday.
The Irish Times revealed last year that a childminder from Newbridge, Co Kildare had her house evaluated for commercial rates.
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Margaret Donohoe’s home was assessed by Tailte Éireann last October, who subsequently told her its evaluation had been passed on to Kildare County Council. She has yet to hear from the local authority about how much she may be required to pay.
Tailte Éireann is a State agency which falls under the remit of the Department of Housing. It 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.
Foley said if child-minding was taking place within the confines of a childminder’s home, she did not believe they should be paying “any rates”.
“If it’s a different type of enterprise where there’s been some addition on to the house or whatever, that’s a different circumstance, but the principle of the minding of children within the home – I think, personally, they shouldn’t be rated but that is outside my gift,” she said.
“We are trying to seek clarity on that and I have raised it with the Minister for Housing.”
The Fianna Fáil TD said letters had gone out to some childminders about having their homes assessed, but not to others. She spoke of the need for “uniformity” on the issue, acknowledging “different local authorities operate differently”.
“I think there’s a divergence of view between what was introduced at one point, what was subsequently introduced and there is a very strong difference of opinion in terms of how the law should be interpreted and regulations should be interpreted,” she said.
“I have a very clear view. I think we should be supportive of those who mind children within the confines of their own home, but that’s still to be addressed by Tailte Éireann.”
In recent correspondence to Childminding Ireland, Tailte Éireann said the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 provided that early-childhood care and education facilities operating on a not-for-profit basis were exempt from rates.
However, it said the Act did not provide a general exemption from rates for such 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.
A spokesman for Minister for Housing James Browne said: “Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency and provides a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State.
“Tailte Éireann is independent in the exercise of its valuation functions under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended (the Act), and the Minister has no function in decisions in this regard.”
An update on the matter has been sought by the Department, he added.
