Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 March 2017
343. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if child benefit is payable to fifth and sixth year students in secondary school who have reached 18 years of age; if he will review this situation to ensure that child benefit is payable in respect of all persons in full-time second level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11983/17]
View answerChild Benefit is currently paid to around 625,000 families in respect of some 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of over €2 billion in 2017.
Child Benefit is a universal payment paid in respect of all qualified children, who are ordinarily resident in the State, from the first month of their birth up until their 16th birthday. The Social Welfare Act does provide that Child Benefit can be paid between the ages of 16-18 in respect of children who are;
- Receiving full time education or
- Who have a disability.
Budget 2009 reduced the age for eligibility for Child Benefit from 19 years to less than 18 years.
Families on low incomes can avail of a number of provisions to social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:
- qualified child increases (IQCs) with primary 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 (paid at the full-time second level education rate).
These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked with household income and thereby supports low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.
Extending Child Benefit to students who are in full-time secondary education and who have reached 18 years of age if adopted would not be a targeted approach given the universality of Child Benefit. The adoption of such a proposal would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
