Child benefit is a monthly payment to assist with the costs associated with raising children. It is paid to around 604,000 families in respect of some 1.15 million children, with an estimated expenditure of around €1.9 billion in 2014. It is paid in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years in line with the statutory school attendance age. The payment continues to be paid for children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, subject to certification from school or college of educational attendance for each of these years.
A Value for Money Review of Child Income Support Programmes found that the participation pattern in second-level education supports the 18-year age limit for child benefit. For families on low incomes there are a number of provisions to social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:
- qualified child increases (QCIs) with primary social welfare payments
- family income supplement (FIS) for low-paid employees with children
- The back to school clothing and footwear allowance for low income families.
Therefore, I have no plans to make any changes to the age threshold for child benefit.
Budget 2015 increased child benefit by €5, from €130 to €135 per month, which will benefit over 611,000 households with children. In addition, the new back to work family dividend for long-term unemployed jobseekers with children and lone parents who return to work, will provide €29.80 per child in the first year and half that figure in the second year. In total over €2.4 billion will be provided for child income supports in 2015, up €125 million on this year.
These measures recognise the sacrifices that families made during the economic crisis and their continuing difficulties. They are in line with the commitment in the Statement of Government Priorities for a new deal on living standards for hard-pressed families. Strategically, the measures will increase the pace of the progress in helping people back to work, boost the recovery, reduce welfare expenditure in the long-run, and, most importantly, help the families in question to build a better financial future for themselves.
