I move amendment No. 19:
In page 16, to delete lines 14 to 44 and in page 17, to delete lines 1 to 26 and substitute the following:
"(b) in section 221 (as amended by section 17 of and Schedule 3 to the Act of 2006) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (1):
‘(1A) Notwithstanding section 219(1)(b), for the purposes of subsection (1B) and section 221A, ‘qualified child’ shall include a child
who, having attained the age of 18 years is under the age of 19 years and is--
(a) receiving full-time education, the circumstances of which shall be specified in regulations, or
(b) by reason of physical or mental infirmity, incapable of self-support and likely to remain so incapable for a prolonged period,
and
(c) ordinarily resident in the State, and
(d) not detained in a children detention school and is not undergoing imprisonment or detention in legal custody.
(1B) Payment of child benefit in respect of a child referred to in subsection (1A) shall be made to a person qualified for child benefit at half the appropriate amount set out in column (1) or column (2) of Part 4 of Schedule 4, or at half the appropriate amount as determined in accordance with subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b).
(1C) The payment referred to in subsection (1B) shall cease to be payable on 31 December 2009.'
and
(c) by inserting the following section after section 221:
221A.—(1) Subject to this Act, a person shall be entitled to a payment provided for in subsection (2) where a qualified child referred to in section 221 (1A) normally resides with that person and in any week—
(a) an increase in respect of that child is being paid in accordance with section 43(2), 43(3), 56(2), 56(3), 66(2), 66(3), 76(2), 76(3), 76(5), 81(5), 102(1), 102 (2), 109(17), 112(2), 112(3), 113(5)(b), 113A(5)(b), 115(8)(a)(ii), 117(2), 117(3), 122(2), 122(3), 127(1), 142(1)(b)(ii), 146, 150(1)(b), 150(3), 156(1), 158, 161B(1), 161D, 174(1), 178A(3)(a), 181(1)(b)(i), 181(4), 197(b), 211(1)(b), 211(3), 215(1)(b) or 216, or
(b) family income supplement in accordance with Part 6 is being paid in respect of a family which includes a child referred to in section 221(1A).
(2) Subject to subsection (5), an amount of €15 shall be payable in respect of a child referred to in subsection (1) for each week or part thereof in which the conditions in—
(a) subsection (1)(a), or
(b) subsection (1)(b),
are satisfied until the date on which that child attains the age of 19 years.
(3) Subject to this Act, a person shall be entitled to a payment provided for in subsection (4) where a qualified child referred to in section 221(1A) normally resides with that person and in any week that child is in receipt of disability allowance in accordance with Chapter 10 of Part 3.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), an amount of €15 shall be payable in respect of a child referred to in subsection (3) for each week or part thereof in which that child is in receipt of disability allowance until the date on which that child attains the age of 19 years.
(5) The amount payable under subsection (2) or subsection (4) in respect of a child whose birth was part of—
(a) a multiple birth of 2 children, of whom 2 remain qualified, shall be €22.50, or
(b) a multiple birth of 3 or more children, of whom—
(i) not less than 3 remain qualified, shall be €30,
(ii) not less than 2 remain qualified, shall be €22.50,
or
(iii) one remains qualified, shall be €15.
(6) Only one weekly amount shall be payable pursuant to subsection (2)(a), (2)(b) or (4).
(7) For the purposes of this section—
(a) the Minister may make rules for determining with whom a child referred to in section 221(1A) shall be regarded as normally residing,
(b) a child referred to in section 221(1A) shall not be regarded as normally residing with more than one person, and
(c) where a child referred to in section 221(1A) is resident in an institution and contributions are made towards the cost of his or her maintenance in that institution, that child shall be regarded as normally residing with the person with whom in accordance with the rules made under paragraph (a) he or she would be determined to be normally residing if he or she were not resident in an institution but, where the person with whom the child would thus be regarded as normally residing has abandoned or deserted the child, the child shall be regarded as normally residing with the head of the household of which he or she would normally be a member if he or she were not resident in an institution.
(8) Section 221(1A) and this section shall cease to have effect on 31 December 2010.'.".".
This amendment relates to the lowering of the age limit for child benefit from 19 years to 18. This measure is to be phased in, with payment for existing and future qualifying children being halved from January 2009 and payment ceasing at age 18 years from January 2010. A compensatory payment of €15 is being provided during 2009 and 2010 for any week during which those affected by this measure receive a social welfare payment which includes an increase in respect of the 18 year old child or a family income payment which includes payment in respect of that child. It will also apply where the child in question is receiving a disability allowance payment in his or her own right.
Families with twins, triplets and other multiple births receive more in child benefit than recipients generally. Therefore, they would face larger reductions in their payments following implementation of this measure. For this reason, we have provided that the weekly compensation payment of €15 will be increased by 50% for each child in a set of qualifying twins and by 100% for each child in a set of qualifying triplets and other multiple births. These increases will mirror the rates of child benefit generally provided in the case of twins and other multiple births.
In addition, households affected by the measure which also qualify for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance will receive an extra payment of €215, bringing the total payment in respect of such a child to €520. These transitional measures will cease in January 2011.