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

I thank Deputy Moynihan and acknowledge the support he and others gave me in increasing the age to the 19th birthday. That made a big difference. It brought a lot of children in, including some who were still in secondary school and were able to get that support. It is a much-needed support. It is a universal payment. Some people say it should be universal, while others say there should be targeted measures. All I can say is that in all my days working, the children's allowance, which is now called child benefit, has been a very useful payment and has made a huge difference to a lot of mothers, to be honest. The rate is currently €140. We gave the double payment two years in a row and a lot of people told me it was nice to have the few bob in their pockets before Christmas because there are always an extra few bills that have to be paid. I keep all these matters under review and I will probably reveal more next week.

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