Childcare costs are a huge topic of conversation at the moment, with established organisations accusing self-employed sole traders of offering services at cut price rates bigger centres cannot match because of regulation.

Newstalk.com took a look at the area and discovered that the rules government small time childminders are largely self-imposed.

This clearly puts the onus on parents to make sure that any cut-price childcare provider they have managed to find is an appropriate and safe place for their child to spend the day.

What is the definition of a childminder?

Childminders are self-employed people who look after other people's children in the child minder's own home.

They are considered diffently by law to childcare centres - a group that includes pre-schools, play groups, day nurseries and crèches, that care for groups of children aged from birth to six.

They must be over 18 and regulations state they must be 'genuinely interested in caring for children and of a suitable character to do so', but there is no test for that.

Only childminders caring for more than three children are covered by the Child Care Act and have to notify authorities of their operation.

Further, if a childminder is looking after more than three children, and they are all from the same family they do not have to notify authorities.

That means they are not subject to any inspection by the Child and Family Agency, and they do not have to submit to garda vetting.

Good childminders though can choose to notify authorities voluntarily.

The rules also say that it is up to the parents and childminders themselves to negotiate their own terms such as hours, rates and duties.

Childminders can earn up to €15,000 in a year without attracting tax. But if they earn more than that, they must pay tax on the full amount.

Garda vetting

Pre-school childcare services are required to obtain references and Garda vetting for all staff, students and volunteers who have access to children.

It currently takes between two and four weeks to be vetted by the gardaí. 

But Newstalk.com has discovered that gardaí have no input in the final decision a childcare organisation makes as to whether a person is employed. That is in spite of whatever information comes out during the vetting process. The childcare organisation bears sole responsibility.

Only people who consent to being vetted can be vetted, so gardaí cannot be asked to provide information about a person you are worried about.

And vetting applications can only be made by registered organisations, not by individuals.

During the vetting process, gardaí will disclose all convictions and prosecutions to the authorised liaison person in the registered organisation. That will include any pending prosecutions, and can include non convictions if the offence gives rise to a bona fide concern that the person concerned could harm a child.

The only exceptions are that some minor convictions over 7 years old can be removed from disclosures, and most people who committed crimes while they were juveniles can have their records expunged.

All of that means the rules are clear for large childcare centres whose staff must be vetted and inspected, but the position for small time childminders is much less clear.

In the end, if a parent finds a childcare provider offering rates that seem too good to be true, it is worth considering that perhaps they are.