Counting the cost of having a baby: The big question would-be parents should ask themselves is “can I/we afford this?”
Closer to home, research commissioned by Laya in 2015 pegged the figure at €105,321 to raise a child “from cradle to college” in Ireland though it is safe to say that amount has increased since then thanks to the dramatic hikes in rents, energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis.We decided to concentrate on the first five years of a baby’s life and examine which costs new families are likely to face.
This figure doesn’t take into account household costs, like rent or energy bills, which might increase when you add an extra person to a household and focuses on costs solely associated with the child. These are things like food, books, toys, social inclusion activities specified to age group – for instance swimming lessons – and Christmas presents.
Families can avail of the non-means tested child benefit payment which comes to €140 per month for a single child. However, this would leave families with a shortfall of €49 per week to cover a baby’s basic standard of living before childcare costs. These are also just the costs that occur after birth but babies actually start racking up their expenses before they make an appearance in the world at all.
If you elect to go private or semi-private to have a baby, the costs vary depending on your level of health insurance .The decision to go private or semi-private usually has less to do with having your own room and more to do with being under the care of the same consultant throughout the pregnancy and, ideally, present for the birth .
At the National Maternity Hospital, private patients can expect to pay €2,500-€5,000 in consultant fees and €1,000 per night in accommodation fees for single-occupancy rooms if available.
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