Forget €5 pension hike, give granny a break from childminding instead

In 2015, a ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ report found that the most common form of non-parental childcare was provided by relatives, with grandparents looking after one-third of infants in childcare. Stock photo: Depositphotos

Kevin Doyle

For generations, every Irish child loved visiting their grandparents. It was a Sunday ritual that came with the unspoken promise of sweets and maybe a 50 pence piece from granny's purse on the way out the door.

During the Celtic Tiger era, many lucky children saw that 50p inflated to a fiver.

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