Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

Why does the Minister believe it is achieving the purpose for which it was intended given, as he admitted in his reply, that the reason it was brought in was EU enlargement? Excluding people from those countries from receiving the child benefit payment was found to be contrary to EU law. Now those people are automatically included. Only approximately 3,000 children of asylum seekers are affected by this.

Has the Department received any legal advice on Ireland's position in respect of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which we signed up in 1992, and are there any contradictions, as I believe there are, in regard to articles 3 and 26 which guarantee the right of every child to benefit from social security? Does the Minister believe it is appropriate that children living in direct provision are expected to survive — I accept their food and shelter is paid for — on €9.60 per week?

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