Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The working family payment is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees with children who are on low earnings. It is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low-paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take up employment. Eligibility for the payment is not linked to receipt of a social welfare payment but rather a person must be in employment for at least 38 hours per fortnight.

To qualify for the working family payment, the average total weekly family income must be below the relevant income threshold for the family's size. The payment is calculated at 60% of the difference between the total family income and the income threshold that applies to the family.

The income threshold increases with the number of children. For example, the weekly income threshold for families with one child is €551 and for families with two children it is €652. Budget 2022 provided for a €10 weekly increase in the working family payment income limits for families of all sizes. As part of a package of measures to assist families with the cost of living, implementation of this increase was brought forward to April of this year.

The average weekly payment made to families is currently estimated at €140 per week. Approximately 47,000 families with 103,000 children are in receipt of the working family payment. Based on current and projected claim volumes, the Department estimates expenditure of €348 million on the scheme this year.

Any further expansion of the scheme must be considered in a budgetary context.

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