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

I do not have the figures for who should be applying. We can only encourage people to consider the working family payment. It is to help people who are working. We want to encourage people who go to work and support them in doing so. That is the purpose of the working family payment.

The online application process replaced a very long paper application form. The removal of the requirement for an employer to sign part of the application is another change aimed at removing barriers for the take-up of the scheme. We have seen a significant increase in the number of applications in recent years, as I said, with 34,372 claims received in 2022 compared with 27,854 in 2018. My Department undertook a public information campaign to promote the payment, using the tagline "You might be surprised by the working family payment". The campaign aimed to promote the payment among working families on low to moderate incomes, especially those who may not realise they qualify for the payment, and to provide them with more information about the scheme.

See this speech in context