Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:166. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans on extending child benefit to be paid to 18 year olds who are still in full time education. [37208/15]
View answerTuesday, 3 November 2015
Questions (166)
Written answers
Child benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a physical or mental disability. Child benefit is paid to around 619,000 families in respect of some 1.19 million children, with an estimated expenditure of around €1.9 billion in 2015.
In Budget 2016, the Government increased child benefit by €5 to €140 per month, at a cost of €72 million. This measure recognises the sacrifices that low- and middle-income families made during the economic crisis and will help families to build a better financial future and will boost the economic recovery.
The previous Government in Budget 2009 reduced the age for eligibility for child benefit from 19 years to 18 years. The Department of Social Protection published a value for money review of child income supports in 2010, which found that the participation pattern of children in education supports this age limit for child benefit. There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria for child benefit.
In addition to child benefit, families on low incomes can avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:
- qualified child increases (QCIs) for recipients of social welfare payments;
- family income supplement (FIS) for low-paid employees with children;
- the back to school clothing and footwear allowance for low income families.
These schemes provide supports for low-income families with children aged 18 – 21 years participating in full-time education that are directly linked with household income.