The Combat Poverty figures to which the Deputy refers relate to figures published by the statistical office of the EU, EUROSTAT, in May 1997. The figures, based on data drawn from the European Community household panel, found that in 1993, 28 per cent of children in Ireland lived in households whose income was below 50 per cent of average net household income.
The incidence of child poverty is a major concern of this Government and successive budget measures, along with targeted policy initiatives, have sought to ensure that our children are protected and given the opportunities to break an intergenerational cycle of poverty.
One of the means by which child poverty can be tackled effectively is child benefit. The link between the risk of poverty and family size has been firmly established and my Department's provision of income support in respect of children plays a crucial role in combating the incidence of child poverty. Child benefit channels resources directly to families and is of particular importance to families on low incomes. As it is universal, not taxable and not assessed as means for other secondary benefits such as differential rents, medical cards etc., it does not act as a disincentive to taking up employment or improving wages. It is further complemented by programmes in other Departments aimed at combating disadvantage among children, for example, the Department of Education and Science's Early Start and Breaking the Cycle initiatives and the Children at Risk initiative in the Department of Health and Children.
A key factor in combating the incidence of poverty, and child poverty in particular, relates to the adequacy of the payments made under the various schemes. Increases in last December's budget mean that all social welfare payments have now reached or in many cases have exceeded the minimum level recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare. In addition, increases to the monthly rates of child benefit in recent budgets have established its growing importance within the overall child income support system with a particular focus on the needs of larger families.
The recent budget provided for child benefit increases of £3 per month to £34.50 for each of the first two children and £4 per month to £46 for the third and all subsequent children. Some 513,000 families with a total of 1.2 million children will benefit from these increases. The full year cost of these increases in last December's budget is £40.76 million and the total projected spend on child benefit in 1999 is £447.5 million compared to a total spend of £231.3 million in 1993, the year the EUROSTAT study was conducted. In addition, the 1999 budget provided for an increase in the family income supplement threshold of £8 per week which, allied to last year's introduction of FIS calculated on a net income basis, means that thousands of families are better off as a result.
Critical decisions will continue to be required in setting a policy course for the future development of child income support. The application of substantial resources in recent years towards the provision of increases in child benefit represents a tangible move towards removing disincentive effects and encouraging a move into employment which is a key step in addressing overall poverty. The reform of FIS represents another equally important step.
In summary, I assure the Deputy of this Government's continued support for increases in family support payments generally and our overall commitment to a families first policy and to services benefiting children, particularly those in poverty.