Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
847. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will clarify the situation regarding eligibility for the €100 additional payment for children's allowance, and in particular, eligibility with regard to students in Leaving Certificate classes who have not been approved for the recent June bonus payment. [28490/23]
View answerChild Benefit is a universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Estimated expenditure on the scheme will be approximately €2.1 billion in 2023.
The €100 Child Benefit bonus payment is payable in respect of all qualified children for the month of June. The payment of €100 per child was paid on the first Tuesday of this month, the sixth of June.
Child Benefit for children aged 16 and 17 in full-time education is paid on the basis that their attendance is certified by the school or college they attend. The school or college certifies the child’s attendance up to the end of the school year, which, in the case of those children doing State exams, would include the month of June.
Child Benefit ceases in the month of a child’s eighteenth birthday regardless of their education status thereafter. Therefore, any Leaving Certificate student under the age 18 as of the first of June would remain a qualified child for the purposes of Child Benefit for the month of June, and the additional payment of €100 would have been paid in respect of that child.
There are currently no plans to extend Child Benefit in respect of post-primary students who are over 18 years of age. Such an extension would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context. Families on low incomes may be able to avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:
• Increase for a Qualified Child (IQCs) with primary social welfare payments;
• the Working Family Payment for low-paid employees with children; and
• the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
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.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
