Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister and her officials will recall engagement I had with them previously in respect of the working family payment. The payments received by larger families has not kept in train with the increases for smaller families over the past decade. It is an issue the Parliamentary Budget Office flagged with us. The committee would ask the Minister to look at that in the context of the forthcoming budget to ensure there are proportionate increases across family sizes. The changes to the working family payment in recent years discourage families with a larger number of children from participating in the workforce. It is not just the related immediate issues, including poverty, but there are also long-term social consequences. We ask the Minister to consider the issue in the context of her consideration of the budget for 2025. Would anyone else like to come in on working age income supports?