Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The working family payment scheme is a demand-led scheme and is not budget capped. Based on current and projected claim volumes, my Department estimates expenditure of €348.6 million for the scheme in 2022.

In budget 2022, I provided for an increase in €10 per week in the working family payment income thresholds for all families. It is estimated that 45,000 recipients, with 103,000 children, will benefit from this measure. This increase was originally scheduled to come into effect from June 2022. However, as part of the package of measures the Government announced in February to assist families with cost-of-living increases, implementation has been brought forward. The higher income thresholds will now take effect from April. This will cost an additional €4 million. As part of the cost-of-living measures, the electricity costs emergency benefit scheme will support all families at a cost of €400 million.

Increasing the working family payment income thresholds is a targeted measure that is directly linked to household income and, therefore, directly supports low-income working families. Working family payment recipients are low-income families.

In recent years, we have also focused on other improvements for families with children, including increases to qualified child payments and the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. These changes help to deliver on the Government's commitment, as set out in the roadmap for social inclusion, published in January 2020, to continue to target a reduction in poverty among children and families on low incomes as part of the annual budget process. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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