Kathleen Funchion
Question:979. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of the guardians payment annually; and the number of payments for the past five years. [37281/23]
View answerMonday, 11 September 2023
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If you are taking care of a child who is an orphan, you may get a social welfare payment of €203 a week. It is not necessary to be a legally appointed guardian. You may get this payment if the child lives with you and you are responsible for their care. The payment is for the benefit of the child.
If either parent, or step-parent, had worked at any time and paid social insurance (PRSI) for 26 weeks, the child is entitled to the Guardian’s Payment (Contributory). Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) is a non-contributory payment for a child who is not entitled to the contributory payment. The means test for this is based on the child’s means. Payment is made to the child’s guardian until the child turns 18 or, if the child is in full-time education, until they turn 22.
The expenditure for Guardian's Payment (Contributory) and Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) over the last 5 years is shown in table 1, and the number of payments made is shown in table 2. Note that between March 2020 and November 2020 weekly payments were changed to a fortnightly schedule on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Table 1: Expenditure on Guardian's Payment (Contributory) and Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) (€million), by year
|
Year |
Guardian's Payment (Contributory) |
Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) |
|
2022 |
16.48 |
8.19 |
|
2021 |
16.08 |
8.01 |
|
2020 |
15.93 |
7.77 |
|
2019 |
15.64 |
7.38 |
|
2018 |
14.77 |
7.28 |
Table 2: Number of Guardian's Payment (Contributory) and Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) payments, by year
|
Year |
Guardian's Payment (Contributory) |
Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) |
|
2022 |
58,856 |
29,217 |
|
2021 |
58,865 |
28,590 |
|
2020 |
42,375 |
19,566 |
|
2019 |
58,939 |
27,272 |
|
2018 |
56,090 |
27,420 |