David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 5, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:

"1.—The Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the introduction of a second-tier, employment-neutral, child income support payments to target child poverty levels.".

This is one of the issues the Minister has raised from time to time in recent years. It concerns the second-tier, employment-neutral child income support payment to target child poverty levels. This idea was broadly agreed and welcomed when it first arose. We had been pushing for the child dependant allowance to be increased for a number of years. It has been increased but we are still awaiting a second-tier, targeted, employment-neutral payment. This might be an opportunity for the Minister to report progress to the House.

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