I can’t believe this! No AIBU…

[Whaintheworld]

short n sweet…a friend of mine in Ireland has just had triplets, we were chatting all sorts and in the chat she informed me that in Ireland for triple you get double child benefit per child! That’s a total of 840 a month!…wow! That is amazing. I’m actually in shock! Go Ireland!

@Jk987 yea!! It must be so hard, her husband has 3 months off too which is nice (on full pay I may add!!) so that’s a massive help

I'd love to know if there's ever been studies into how being a parent of multiples impacts their careers. Cost of childcare versus pay is a big factor in deciding whether a parent should stay at home no matter how many kids you have, but with multiples you get all the childcare costs in one hit and that must surely lead to more parents staying at home who perhaps wouldn't have done if they'd had a singleton. Glad to see the Ireland are doing something to rebalance that.

You can't hand things down as they all need the same things at the same time, for instance with my three children we bought one cot, one pram, one high chair and used it for all the kids over the 10 years.

If they'd all been the same age it'd be three cots, three high chairs etc. Also paying three lots of childcare at the same time must be unbelievably expensive.

Plus Mum will only get paid for the equivalent of a single maternity leave so it’s a fair bonus I think

@sparepantsandtoothbrush

Why? Do they cost more per baby just because they're a multiple? Genuine question as that makes zero sense to me!

I have twins (in England) and yes it's often more expensive to have multiples.

There are no hand-me-downs from older siblings for a start, so you have to buy two rear facing car seats (for example), you have to buy a double pram (more expensive than a single), you have to buy two cots/cot beds/bassinets.

If you're using bouncers, high chairs, cutlery crockery etc there is no reusing from older siblings so everything has to be bought in multiples (or of your are reusing from a sibling you still have to buy an extra set or two).

Multiples are much more likely to be premature (full term for twins is 37 weeks and any baby born earlier than 37 weeks is premature), I'm sure full term for triplets is something like 32 or 35 weeks. Earlier births with multiple children means it's much more likely that you'll need to use formula in some way as a parent to multiples, which is obviously expensive.

Also the rate of divorce of parents of multiples is higher than that of Singleton parents (according to Twins Trust)....so perhaps this is one way to help alleviate some of that financial burden and try and help families have one less point of angst.

When your children start nursery often parents will plan kids to have a new baby start nursery at the point the oldest goes to school so you only have one child in nursery.....you don't have that choice with multiples. So although the cost is the same over the lifetime, the cost comes all at once which is unaffordable to many.

I could go on. 😊

It's budget day in Ireland next week and one of the proposals is a one off double payment of child benefit to help with the cost of living crisis so your friend might get a bonus extra €840

@LoudAndSqueaky wow!! What else do parents get in general? Childcare help??

i wonder how Many sets of triplets live in Ireland though ? Bet it’s not many

More facts!

Direct copy and paste from the Central Statistics Office from 2020 LINK HERE

"The number of maternities in 2020 which resulted in live births was 55,790 including 1,013 sets of twins, 11 sets of triplets and one set of quadruplets. This is equivalent to a “twinning rate” of 18.2 (i.e. the number of sets of live twins per 1,000 maternities which resulted in live births). Over the past 29 years, the twinning rate has increased significantly – from 11.7 in 1991, to an all-time high of 19.0 in 2016."

So triplets and quads are really rare.

Exactly. Ireland has a fairly small population, barely more than half that of London, so the numbers of twins and triplets born each year will be fairly small, so the cost to the state will be tiny.

Googling, the Irish statistical office says 'In 2020, there were 1,013 sets of twins born in Ireland, 11 sets of triplets, and one set of quadruplets'.

Her childcare costs are going to be astronomical.

They do cost more - if you have three singles a few years apart you'll get away with one cot, one buggy, clothes and car seats can be passed down. Not to mention uniforms and school books which are very expensive in Ireland. Then three in childcare at the same time, no falling bills as they go to school.

I think it's great that families get this support.

Ireland is doing economically brilliantly, partly because of Brexit and partly because of very low corporate tax attracting multinational companies. They’re considering setting up a sovereign wealth fund like Norway has.m
Yes there are issues - housing is super expensive and hard to find being the main one and food/eating out is €€€.

Frankly they can afford this and many more perks that the UK can’t.

I think it's great - multiples are bloody expensive.

Imagine paying for three cots, three car seats (and probably a bigger car), three high chairs, a triple buggy and enough nappies, formula and clothes for three babies all at once. Then when you go back to work, you need to pay for three lots of nursery fees all at once - even with a sibling discount that's going to cost you thousands of pounds a month.

Even when they're at school it's expensive - three sets of uniform, three lots of school shoes, after school care, lunches, activities...

I would also wonder how many parents of triplets are forced out of work due to childcare costs - I suspect it's a fairly high number.

@heldinadream 🤣. Coffee required.

Childcare subsidies are available up to income C. E60k. Staffing is the issue.

Yes we also pay child benefit for children that don't even live in Ireland!

I'd imagine 3 together would be way more expensive than 3 in a row. You would likely need 'specialist/bespoke' equipment like buggies/prams, seating, bedding etc, because you have to deal with all 3 at once. You might also need to employ help (especially if you have other children) and move house! There's a good chance the babies are prem or have some additional needs.
I've no idea if it would be double the cost but certainly more than standard.

It's not that they cost more but that you have all the costs at the same time, unlike other siblings where it's spread out over several years. You try putting 3 kids in childcare at the same time, or buying 3 cots, car seats etc.

I wonder if it gets withdrawn once one parent earns 50k euros.

Child benefit is not means tested in Ireland. Every parent is eligible for the same payment regardless of their income, savings assets etc.

@Alainlechat no, child benefit is not means tested. All are entitled to it. You can volunteer to return it to the state.

that's good for her
she will need help with triplets

Yes they will do. I had twins and you can't pass things down and use them twice. Plus there's the cashflow pressure as your paying out for nursery fees at the most expensive rate all at once rather than being able to stagger it. If you take a career break rather than pay for childcare, you've then got the hit on your pension as well as future earnings.

It was a very expensive time when my two were babies. There's also the fact it's so much harder to do chores when you're trying to keep your eye on two toddlers so I got a cleaner, gardener and paid for an ironing service. I couldn't even imagine the exhaustion either with one extra!

I suppose it’s just getting your tax back in a sense.