Vol. 543 No. 3
27 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recommendation of many pre-budget submissions that child dependent allowances should be standardised and increased as a targeted child income support measure. [26848/01]
There are currently three different rates of child dependent allowances payable to social welfare recipients, ranging from £13.20 or 16.76 euro per week to £17.00 or 21.59 euro per week. Since the report of the Commission on Social Welfare, which recommended a rationalisation of the rates of child dependent allowances, the number of different rates has been reduced from 36 to the current three. Further rationalisation, to bring all child dependent allowances up to the highest rate currently paid, would cost in the order of £49 million, or 62.22 million euro, annually.
The loss of child dependent allowances by social welfare recipients on taking up employment can act as a disincentive to taking up available work opportunities. The policy direction followed by successive Governments has therefore been to concentrate resources for child income support on the child benefit scheme which is neutral vis-à-vis the employment status of the parents and does not contribute to poverty traps. The Government's commitment to this policy is reflected in the substantial resources we have invested in the child benefit scheme since entering office.
Over our first three budgets annual expenditure on child benefit increased to £575 million, or 730.1 million euro, a rise of more than 40% compared to pre-election levels. Following payment in June of the historic increases in child benefit rates of £25, or 31.74 euro, and £30, or 38.09 euro, per month, total expenditure on child benefit is now over £900 million or 1,143 million euro per year. With increases of the same order due in each of the next two years total Government investment in the scheme will have risen to some £1.5 billion, or 1.9 billion euro, by the end of 2003. This means that we will have moved from a position in 1994 where 70% of child income support for a family claiming social welfare payments was in the form of child dependent allowances to a position in 2003 where child dependent allowances will account for less than 33%.
