Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I will deal with Deputy Ó Caoláin's last question first. I have indicated in Adjournment debates and in discussions with my Oireachtas colleagues that 2 November is not an absolute deadline, but we do not want this matter going on. We want to have the information in as soon as possible because the Department is anxious to analyse the material from different community groups around the country as early as possible in November. We want to get approval out in respect of the first half year's payments next year to the various groups as quickly as possible. We will still be accepting data after 2 November. We do not want the message to go out from this House that it will do sometime, because it will not. It is in the interests of the groups themselves to get the data in.

Deputy Byrne mentioned the detailed forms involved, but individuals have only to tick off whether they are in receipt of certain payments, or are in education or training.

Deputy Ó Caoláin indicated earlier that there would be a huge workload on each group, given the bureaucracy involved. The groups will be in receipt of the form to return to the Department but will not be obliged to process it as this will be done by departmental officials.

Deputy Reilly had a number of actuarial questions concerning the early child care supplement. The original Estimate for the full-year cost of the early child care supplement, which would arise in 2007, based on the position as of December 2005 when it was announced, was €353 million. This was based on the number of children under six years in respect of which child benefit was being paid. In conjunction with the Department of Social and Family Affairs, which administers the payment on behalf of my office, an administrative decision was taken to pay the supplement in respect of all children who qualify during a quarter, as opposed to paying it only where children qualify for all of the period. As a result, the payment is made in respect of all children qualified on the last day of the quarter plus all those who turned six or otherwise ceased to be eligible at some point. The effect is that 25 payments, as opposed to 24, are made for each child — we are being a little extra generous — which increased the total cost per annum by just over 4%. The decision was taken to pay from birth rather than from the first full period following birth, as in the case of multi-child benefit payment, as otherwise some parents would not get a payment until the child was nearly six months old.

Deputy Reilly asked why foreign nationals are paid the early child care supplement. The supplement is a family benefit as defined in EU law and therefore is co-ordinated by EU regulations, most notably Regulation EEC/1408 of 1971. This regulation was passed to give effect to the right of workers to move freely around what was then the European Economic Community, without fear of losing their rights to benefits. At that time we were a beneficiary and would not have been paying out.

Deputy Reilly also questioned the rate of increase, as did Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. The rate of increase in the early child care supplement has been driven by two factors, the increasing birth rate and the arrival of migrants with children. It has been consistent since the introduction of the payment in April 2006. While it is difficult to establish a definitive pattern it appears that the significant growth in 2006 and 2007 may be reaching a plateau, possibly linked to a slowdown in inward migration.

I do not have the note that I had earlier but my recollection is that the number of non-resident children on payment for the early child care supplement amounts to approximately 1,150, half of whom are resident in Britain or the Six Counties, the part of my province which is outside our jurisdiction. That payment amounts to approximately €1.1 million for 2007 and the projected cost of that element of the scheme is €2 million for 2008 for non-resident EU citizens. It is a relatively small sum.

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