Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

The Minister has not answered my question. I asked her a straightforward question about the consideration she has given to the implications of withdrawing child benefit for 18 year olds. The reason I asked that question was because she, of all people, should know the implications of withdrawing child benefit for 18 year olds, given her experience in the Department of Education and Science. She should know that a minority of children from low income families actually stay on in school until the leaving certificate. She should also know that there are huge financial pressures on teenage children in low income families and, unfortunately, many of them — if not the majority — cannot stay on in school for financial reasons. The Minister knows that at this stage, because of transition year, a great many leaving certificate students are over 18 years. Education should not end at 18 anyway and all efforts should be made to ensure that children from low income families remain in the education system past leaving certificate and into further education.

The Minister also knows that the evidence from research indicates that leaving certificate students who participate in part-time work do so to the detriment of their academic achievement. The Minister knows all of this from her previous experience as Minister for Education and Science and in view of those facts, I am asking her why she decided to target the teenage children of low income families. Will the Minister tell the House on what basis she thought those families could take a hit of €38 a week?

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