Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Payments under the rent supplement scheme will be reduced to reflect the fall in prices in the rental market. We will also intensify the campaign against welfare fraud by allocating additional staff to the Department and by targeting, in particular, the fraudulent claiming of child benefit and other payments by those who are no longer resident in this country. We will continue to target the available resources on those most in need. The Government does not think that it is fair to pay the same level of benefit irrespective of the level of income of the recipient. For that reason, the Government has decided that child benefit will be means tested or taxed in the budget for next year.

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