Being a stay-at-home parent is one of the toughest jobs there is, but at least it pays a decent salary. Oh wait... no it doesn't. It pays nothing at all.
According to new research however, it should pay up to €40,000 a year. An insurance company calculated just how much it would cost to employ somebody to take care of all those jobs stay-at-home mums and dads do every day, from cleaning the loo and cutting the grass to picking up the kids from school and ferrying them to soccer practice and violin class.
According to Royal London, Ireland is home to more than 340,000 stay-at-home parents. If they were suddenly no longer capable of looking after the household on a daily basis, they estimate that driving the family around would cost at least €150 per week, while hiring someone to help with homework would be around €95.
Employing someone to put an evening meal on the table every night would total another €150 and childminding would bump up the weekly outgoings by a further €225.
