Informal arrangements for childcare made by working parents should be subject to regulation, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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Minister For Social And Family Affairs Ms Mary Coughlan with from left Mr John Martin OECD chairman, Dr Eileen Drew, Trinity College Dublin and Professor Mary Daly Queens University Belfast at the launch of the OECD review of family friendly policies in Ireland, Austria and Japan. Photo: Maxwells
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The report recommends that such arrangements - often made with family members - could then be eligible for a means-tested payment funded by the State.
Bosses and Babies, today launched by the Minster for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, compares childcare arrangements in Ireland, Japan and Austria.
It says there should be additional public investment in childcare services with a greater emphasis on parents
rather than providers.
It recommends that single parents should be discouraged from relying on social welfare payments when their children reach school-going age and assisted in entering the workforce.
It argues that benefit payments can be linked to licensed facilities but also says "there is a strong case for ensuring that childminding that is currently in the informal sector should be subject to some basic quality controls in return for being eligible for such public subsidies".
Ms Coughlan said change in Irish family life has been "rapid and profound ... and there is a need to modernise our policies to cater for these new realities."
She said policies to help parents balance home life and work is "vital".
"Parental care plays a crucial role in child development and the expansion of parental employment would promote economic prosperity, especially in the face of looming demographic changes.