Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
876. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if children’s allowance being paid for the children of Ukrainian refugees is continued when those children leave the State and the number of checks that have been carried out to assess that those children are resident in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56682/23]
View answerChild Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age.
Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16 and 17 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves.
Child Benefit was paid to 652,000 families in respect of 1.2 million children at a cost of €2.4 billion in 2023.
By the end of 2023, over 15,000 claims had been processed under the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainian citizens.
From March 2022 to December 2023, Child Benefit was stopped in respect of 3,000 children where the children had left the state and the payment was made under the Temporary Protection Directive. A stopped payment can be as a result of the customer informing the Department or from a control review.
The Department has a responsibility to ensure payment is made to all qualifying persons and to ensure that Child Benefit is only paid to eligible families. All customers in receipt of Child Benefit are subject to a control review. Reviews are carried out every 12 to 18 months.
Customers with Temporary Protection Ukraine (TPU) status are subject to the same control measures as all other customers. Child Benefit is not payable where children leave the state unless an entitlement continues to exist under EU regulations.
In 2023, the Child Benefit Control unit completed a total of 287,000 reviews.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
