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 up to the age of 19 in the case of children who are still in full-time education and children with disabilities.
Government policy over the past number of years has been to substantially increase the amount spent on Child Benefit, to the advantage of all families. Commitment to this policy is reflected in the significant resources invested in the child benefit scheme since 2001, increasing monthly payments to €150 for each of the first two children and €185 for the third and subsequent children.
To ensure that additional resources are targeted at larger families, who are at greater risk of poverty, a higher rate of child benefit is paid in respect of the third and subsequent qualified children. In this regard, the Child Benefit Review Committee, which was established by the then Minister for Social Welfare and which reported in 1995, considered a number of alternative arrangements including a single rate of payment for all children, a rate structure differentiated on age grounds, and payment of a higher rate for the first child. The Committee concluded that the current differential should be retained.