Michael Ring
Question:391 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans to extend child benefit for students until they finish full-time education rather than to the age of 22 years. [14531/02]
Written Answers. - Child Support.
Child benefit is a universal payment which is payable in respect of all children up to the age of 16 years and continues to be paid in respect of children up to age 19 who are in full-time education, or who have a physical or mental disability. Entitlement to child benefit has always been firmly focused on age. Payment of child benefit until the completion of full-time education would effectively entail the abolition of the age condition. This could give rise to a situation where persons returning to education as mature students could establish an entitlement to child benefit. In addition, the measure is likely to be extremely costly, having regard to the numbers of young people who continue in full-time education beyond 19 years.
This Government intends to complete the programme of multi-annual increases in child benefit announced in budget 2001. Significant progress has already been made in this regard. From April 2002, the rate of child benefit for the first two children was increased by €31.80 and the higher rate for subsequent children by €38.10. These increases raised the lower rate to €117.60 per month and the higher rate to €147.30, in fulfilment of the PPF commitment to move towards €126.97 per month for third and subsequent children. This represents an additional investment in the payment of €413.82 million in a full year. When the planned increases have been fully implemented, we will have increased annual Government investment in child benefit to some €1.9 billion. In light of what I have outlined, any further improvements to the payment would have to be considered in a budgetary context, having regard to the available resources and competing priorities.