# Longford deciding officer?



## manugal (31 Oct 2012)

I am due back to work after maternity leave in February. I am going to have to leave work as, after paying for childcare and travelling costs, I will have about €200 a month left and even with my partner's wage it isn't enough to cover rent and bills. I have tried to look for local childcare but they cannot cater to the hours I work and the childcare close to where I work are looking for a rediculous amount of money. We have no family close to us so that isn't an option, we can't move closer to where I work because my partner works in the town we live, the rent is dearer where I work and we only have one car. I have looked into every option and the only viable option is for me to give up work to stay at home to mind my daughter while looking for work in the town where we live. I am aware that because I am giving up work I can be barred from receiving social welfare for 9 weeks but I'm hoping because of my circumstances that I might get it right away. Does anyone know what the Longford deciding officer is like or what kind of chance I have of getting payments straight away?


----------



## dereko1969 (31 Oct 2012)

Can your partner not drop the kid to the local childcare if it doesn't suit your hours and he works locally? Does it suit his hours?

I'm not sure the local deciding officers could allow such a situation and even previous experience may not allow it to happen now given the tightening of finances.


----------



## reddanmm (31 Oct 2012)

Hi manugal can you disclose the hours your husband works and the hours you work . There is always a way around things .


----------



## manugal (1 Nov 2012)

dereko1969 said:


> Can your partner not drop the kid to the local childcare if it doesn't suit your hours and he works locally? Does it suit his hours?



we live a couple of miles outside the town with no public transport so he would have to walk in the rubbish weather with a baby so not really an option. Putting a second car on the road just for this reason would wipe out any savings of not putting her in childcare near where I work.



reddanmm said:


> Hi manugal can you disclose the hours your husband works and the hours you work . There is always a way around things .



as I said above it's my hours and the distance we live from my workplace that cause the problem. I can get childcare for the hours I work but because I start early and finish late the price is massive but the local childcare don't even do my hours. His hours suit the local childcare, which is really only a tiny bit cheaper, but we have no way of getting her there without putting another car on the road which defeats the purpose of keeping her local.


----------



## dereko1969 (1 Nov 2012)

Could he cycle into work? How does he get into work normally?


----------



## Mynydd (1 Nov 2012)

Hi Manugal, I sympathise with you, I have only € 300 left from my salary after paying the childcare bill for 2 kids. Unfortunately, that is what we signed up for by having a child.


----------



## manugal (1 Nov 2012)

dereko1969 said:


> Could he cycle into work? How does he get into work normally?



he could but how would he carry the baby? Again, it's the weather. He normally drives into work because I'm on maternity leave at the minute.



Mynydd said:


> Hi Manugal, I sympathise with you, I have only € 300 left from my salary after paying the childcare bill for 2 kids. Unfortunately, that is what we signed up for by having a child.



You're lucky, I would have that after paying for 1 child! I couldn't imagine what sort of money they would be looking for with 2. I understand this is what we signed up for but in all fairness the price of childcare is rediculous in this country. Like everything else, there needs to be something done about it. If they weren't looking for the price of a decent mortgage every month I wouldn't be on here!


----------



## Mynydd (1 Nov 2012)

manugal said:


> he could but how would he carry the baby? Again, it's the weather. He normally drives into work because I'm on maternity leave at the minute.
> 
> 
> 
> You're lucky, I would have that after paying for 1 child! I couldn't imagine what sort of money they would be looking for with 2. I understand this is what we signed up for but in all fairness the price of childcare is rediculous in this country. Like everything else, there needs to be something done about it. If they weren't looking for the price of a decent mortgage every month I wouldn't be on here!


 

I totally agree, they should regulate or somehow subsidise creche fees. My creche fee reflects the ECCE year, otherwise I would be working for nearly nothing. I am going to be made redundant at the end of this year, and it is ridicilous that I am better off on social welfare than working. I hope that I will be able to source a nearby job that covers the creche fees as I prefer to take the long-term view.

How far away is the creche from your home? I cycle into work and do the pickups with the baby in the childseat and the pre-schooler walks along with me.


----------



## reddanmm (1 Nov 2012)

Have you thought about getting an aupair . A friend of my got one a few weeks ago from France as her husband had to go work abroad and she works full time .
Its working out great for her and she pays 120 euro a week plus room and food .
You could also put an ad in the paper looking for a childminder there are lots of mothers at home willing to mind a child for the extra few euros a week . Your only obstacle is getting the baby there . Which seems to me is the only obstacle stopping you from working .
I think you have made up your mind to give up your job and if so you will not get any money from the social for 9 weeks and when you do get your money it will be for 1 year then you will be means tested on your husbands income and depending on his income you may  receive no money at all.
Can you afford to live on one wage .


----------



## manugal (1 Nov 2012)

reddanmm said:


> Have you thought about getting an aupair . A friend of my got one a few weeks ago from France as her husband had to go work abroad and she works full time .
> Its working out great for her and she pays 120 euro a week plus room and food .
> You could also put an ad in the paper looking for a childminder there are lots of mothers at home willing to mind a child for the extra few euros a week . Your only obstacle is getting the baby there . Which seems to me is the only obstacle stopping you from working .
> I think you have made up your mind to give up your job and if so you will not get any money from the social for 9 weeks and when you do get your money it will be for 1 year then you will be means tested on your husbands income and depending on his income you may  receive no money at all.
> Can you afford to live on one wage .



yeah I think you're right. I'm not giving up work for good so I don't need to worry about being means tested or any of that. I will be looking for work in the town I live in but until then I will be staying at home I think, We can manage for the 9 weeks on the one wage if I don't find a job by then. 

Thanks everyone for your help!


----------



## reddanmm (1 Nov 2012)

Well best of luck to you and your family its not easy to juggle everything ,hope it works out well for you


----------



## manugal (1 Nov 2012)

reddanmm said:


> Well best of luck to you and your family its not easy to juggle everything ,hope it works out well for you



thank you very much, that's kind of you


----------



## Mynydd (1 Nov 2012)

reddanmm said:


> ad in the paper looking for a childminder there are lots of mothers at home willing to mind a child for the extra few euros a week . .


 
Where do you find these mothers? I interviewed 7 and all of them were looking for between 70 and 110 euro per day. None of them were offering really child appropriate activities; tv with cartoons was on during the interview eventhough I had specified by phone and in the ad that I did not want my children planted in front of the tv. 

We are going off topic now, sorry


----------



## reddanmm (1 Nov 2012)

Your joking me between 70 and 100 a day i am in the wrong job . And i bet they are running to the revenue to declare it as well .


----------

