Trying to pick his nfl fantasy team and he stuck chatting to Mrs Sullivan for 9 hours on a sunday
Amazing what happens when you actually start taxing
I don’t envisaged having a christening any time soon again
Shit country, ruined by Fine Gael & Fianna Fail
Kip
Banana Republic
What does a stand alone stat like that even prove? How do salaries stack up against costs? Rent/food/travel etc? - that would be a much better bit of useless information.
Take a family with two children aged two and four in Dublin. Creche fees for a child aged between one and three will likely be €900 at a minimum per month, having climbed steadily over the past five years.
A full week of after-school care for the four-year-old costs at a minimum €800. That’s €1,700 a month, and €20,000 a year; well in excess of an average monthly mortgage payment. There is no tax rebate on childcare costs.
In Denmark, a typical cost for the family set-up as the one outlined above - one child in creche and one in after-school care - is roughly €500 per month.
In Germany, the rate for the same level of care for two children is about €250 per month, with the fees also being tax-deductible.
In Spain, the level at the high end for care per child is in the region of €300 per month, within a private creche.
In Belgium, a creche for a child under two-and-a-half years old can cost €600. But past that age free pre-school kicks in, and aftercare for those attending can be as little as €20 per month.
Largely tallies with income. Denmark and Luxembourg are two of the most expensive countries in Europe.
Ireland is about 7th or 8th in Europe when purchasing power and GNI* is considered. In terms of UN Development Index, we are second in the world. Again when outlier factors are stripped out, we drop to 9th.
Either way, we are one of the best off countries in the world.
But the politicians who went to Blackrock College, St Michaels and Notre Dame said that Ireland was a kip 
I never used to check my account balances or budget for anything but I’ve started to feel the pinch lately between childcare costs, gas/electricity bills, general cost of living price increases across the board, some home renovation costs and holiday expenses. If I’m now paying attention to these things I can only imagine how much unfortunates like @Horsebox are being squeezed.
I have a circle made on the date in 2026 when both my kids will be finished with childcare.
We will have a 9 month old and a 2 year old in creche 4 days a week from the start of 2023 onwards. Comes in around 2k a month - a good 40% more than our mortgage payment.
Similar to that, I have found savings took a slight hit when taking parents leave back in April and we got a job done on our garden in May, it has been a slog to build them back up with inflation and whatnot.
First work problems but my pet will have to give us crossfit, the cleaner who comes once a week and other such luxuries will have to be knocked on the head.
I am a firm believer in the social contract and would gladly pay a good chuck more tax on my wages if we actually got some services and value for them. Right now we pay an awful lot of tax with very little to show for it.
Thinly veiled “make childless people pay for my lifestyle choices”.
I have no problem with auld spinsters like yourself getting a pension or fuel allowance bump. Maybe even a nice government incentive for you to downsize and move into an assisted living community
Is there anything to be said for staying at home and mind your own childer?
I don’t get a state pension. I bought my own and I dont get fuel allowance. I’m fucked if I’m going to be happy to subsidize some lad that has money enough to employ a cleaner.
Sure we need the high salaries to pay privately for basic public services.