Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is really important to give credit where credit is due. In my constituency, almost 200 families have benefited from the newborn baby grant. It is a fantastic initiative that is to be welcomed. I am thrilled the Minister said that it is here to stay. I absolutely welcome that. As he will know, there are substantial additional costs when starting a family. Unfortunately, my days of starting families are over - my youngest is ten years of age - so I will not be in a position to personally benefit from it but, in fairness, hundreds of families around the country will. It is a fantastic initiative. Considering the popularity of the newborn baby grant when people are starting their families, could we look at the once-off payment of a lump sum for those coming towards the end of child benefit? There are an awful lot of costs when children are starting college and so on. While it is fantastic that we are looking after those people who are starting families, in the context of budget 2026, could we look at some kind of bonus payment when people are coming to the very end of their child benefit?

See this speech in context