Pádraic McCormack
Question:66 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the child dependent allowance will be amended to just one rate applicable to all children; and her plans to address this anomaly. [4870/03]
Written Answers - Social Welfare Code.
There are currently three different weekly rates of child dependant allowances payable to social welfare recipients, €16.80, €19.30 and €21.60. Since the time of the Report of the Commission on Social Welfare, which recommended a rationalisation of the rates of child dependant allowances, the number of different rates has been reduced from 36 to the current three. While further rationalisation could allow the introduction of a common rate, the gains from this approach would have to be weighed against the costs. To bring all child dependant allowances up to the highest rate currently paid would cost in the order of €57 million annually.
The policy direction followed by successive Governments has been to concentrate resources for child income support on the child benefit scheme. This payment is neutralvis-à-vis the employment status of the parents and does not contribute to poverty traps, whereas the loss of child dependant allowances by social welfare recipients on taking up employment can act as a disincentive to taking up available work opportunities. The Government's commitment to this policy is reflected in the substantial resources we have invested in the child benefit scheme since entering office. Total expenditure on child benefit will reach €1.9 billion when the current programme of multi-annual increases is complete. 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 dependant allowances, to a position where child dependant allowances will account for less than 33%.