Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:

3.—The Minister shall, within three months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the prospect of removing the Habitual Residence Condition from the Child Benefit payment.

I will be very brief because we have discussed this issue in some detail. I want to reiterate one point. Having read the Minister's comments thereon, I want to prevent him from being flabbergasted again. Child benefit is paid to every child and does not confer an automatic right to other payments. There is no suggestion, therefore, that the floodgates would be opened. I asked the Minister whether he could forward to me copies of the judgments of the European Court of Justice, on which he was relying. I will be happy to read them and, having done so, will stand corrected, if necessary.

I still maintain that there is a genuine case. I am only approaching the matter from the perspective of determining what is best for the child, as outlined by a vast number of groups dealing with the issue of child poverty. I appreciate the Minister's point that he cannot make a change in respect of one case without it having an impact on all other circumstances associated with the habitual residency condition, but I ask him to reconsider this one. The existing provision causes difficulty for children.

Some families are in asylum centres for seven years, only one year short of a pupil's time in primary school. The average number of children of these families is 2.4. Therefore, it is a question of making a payment to the families concerned of approximately €70 per week. The payment is such that there would not be a deluge on the shores of Ireland. As I stated, child benefit does not confer a right to additional payments. I, therefore, ask the Minister to reconsider his position.

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