Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 May 2018
4. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if child benefit payments will be extended to include all children in full-time education up to 22 years of age in line with the increase for qualified children paid on social welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19265/18]
View answerWill the Minister make a decision to extend child benefit payments to include all children in full-time education? This would be in line with the increase for qualified children paid on social welfare entitlements.
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 second level education or who have a disability. Child benefit is paid to 627,790 families in respect of more than 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of more than €2 billion in 2018. Given the universality of child benefit, it is not a payment which lends itself to a targeted approach, and the considerable costs associated with any adjustment to the payment can result in benefits being spread very thinly rather than making a difference where there is most need. The Deputy’s proposal, to extend entitlement to parents to include all children in full-time education up to 22 years of age in line with the increase for qualified children paid on social welfare payments, would not be a targeted approach.
Families on low incomes can avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until 22 years, including the increase for a qualified child, IQCs, with primary social welfare payments, the working family payment, WFP, for low-paid employees with children, and 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 to household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.
For parents who have children in third level education, the student grant scheme SUSI is the main financial support for students. There is also detailed information on the range of grants and funds for students in further and higher education on the website www.studentfinance.ie, including the student assistance fund.
If we were to introduce further supports for families and students at second level, it would be directly aimed at those who most needed it. Given all of the above, I have no plans to extend entitlement to child benefit to parents to include all children in full-time education up to 22 years.
While I understand the logic and rationale behind the Minister's response and the limitations on resources available to her Department, she should bear in mind that there was a change to child benefit in January 2010 where it was no longer automatically paid to children between 16 and 18 years. Child benefit is payable to parents or guardians of children between 16 and 18 years only if the child is in full-time education or has a disability. Child benefit is discontinued on the child's 18th birthday even where he or she is still in full-time education. Many children now start primary school at five years and they also undertake transition year at second level. The shift in the starting age means that in the future, secondary school pupils will increasingly be 19 or 20 years when they complete their leaving certificate. Leaving certificate year is an expensive year for parents with leaving certificate examination fees, the CAO application fees and deposits for college accommodation which can cost between €300 and €600. This should be looked at.
The Deputy is correct that in 2009 the budget reduced the age for eligibility for child benefit from 19 years to less than 18 years for those who remain in secondary school, and that children are starting school a little older and, unlike when we were children, they are doing transition year and so are doing their leaving certificate when they are 18 years and over. Given the universality of child benefit, extending the payment to include children of 18 years and over at secondary school would not be a targeted approach. The adoption of such a proposal would have significant cost implications and would not change the poverty indicators of which we spoke earlier. Families on low incomes are the people who we are genuinely trying to assist to bring them to a level where they have a certain quality and standard of life. There are a number of provisions in social welfare schemes, to which I have referred, that support children in full-time education, even when they pass 18 years, and in many cases up to 22 years. There is the increase in the qualified child with the primary social welfare payment, the working family payment for low-paid employees with children, and the back to school clothing allowances. I am satisfied that they are the direct measures that provide assistance to the people who need them rather than increasing or extending universal payments.
I acknowledge those initiatives but extending child benefit would provide vital financial assistance for parents of children still in full-time education. SUSI provides financial assistance to those entering third level education. This assistance is based on a family's gross income. Even in the case of those in receipt of SUSI grants, parents must still provide considerable financial assistance to children attending college. For anyone who is not in receipt of a SUSI grant, it will cost the families between €10,000 and €12,000 per year to put a child through college. All I am saying is that if child benefit was payable for dependent children in full-time education, it would greatly assist families in coping with the cost of putting their children through college. I appreciate the other initiatives outlined by the Minister and I acknowledge that they assist and support families in those circumstances.
Better Outcomes Brighter Futures is a framework and a national policy being developed by my colleague in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. It is a collaborative report among different Departments, including my Department and the Department of Education and Skills. We might be able to do some analysis of the exact specifics the Deputy is looking at within the confines of that interaction. In an attempt to be honest not just to the Deputy but the House, if I have extra money in this area, my priority is to bring the 130,000 or so children who live in consistent poverty out of consistent poverty as opposed to helping middle class families, and I do not mean to be mean about that. When we are looking at our social transfers, we must look at the most vulnerable people to make sure we actually give them a much larger lift in their living standards as opposed to just slightly improving other people's living standards. However, I will ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to have a look at the actual number of people and the amount of money it would cost. We might come back to the Deputy and have a further discussion.
