Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Child benefit is a payment to parents for the support of their children. It is paid to some 607,919 families in respect of 1.16 million children, with an expenditure of approximately €1.9 billion in 2013. Safeguarding the child benefit budget is a priority and in this regard the Department has taken a proactive approach to ensuring that it is only paid to eligible families. A policy of issuing continuing eligibility certificates to parents, such as the letters referred to by the Deputy, commenced in 2008. The control policy for the scheme was reviewed in 2010 to ensure that controls in place to prevent fraud and abuse continue to be effective and relevant. As a result of this review, additional enhanced and updated control measures have been devised and implemented, with the continuing eligibility certification programme remaining as a key component of the control policy. When responding to the eligibility certificates, customers are asked to confirm their residence and which school, crèche or doctor their children attend. The information provided is examined to ensure that child benefit only continues to be paid where there is an ongoing entitlement.

Information received on child care as part of the child benefit control programme is used only in the context of this control measure, that is to indicate an ongoing entitlement to payment of child benefit and is not made available to any other agency for consideration in any other context, in line with data protection requirements.

Questions relating to any review of child care issues should be addressed to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.