Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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26. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide assurances that receipt of child benefit will not be dependent on school attendance, as outlined in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11887/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Child benefit is a universal payment to help families with the cost of raising children and plays an important role in tackling child poverty. It does not rely on a means test or social insurance contributions and is paid to the parents of qualified children up to the age of 18 years. It is paid to approximately 623,000 families for 1.2 million children with estimated spending of more than €2 billion by my Department this year. Child benefit is not linked to school attendance for children under 16 and the Social Welfare Acts do not require monitoring of school attendance for children aged under 16. There is no power in the Act to do so. For older children aged 16 and 17 years, an annual declaration is required from parents, signed by their school, that their children attend school or that they have a disability.

The monitoring of children's attendance at school is an important child welfare issue but is beyond my remit as Minister for Social Protection. The attendance of children at school is monitored by Tusla under the Education (Welfare) Acts on a statutory basis on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Any issues concerning school attendance, including the operation of the monitoring systems, are a matter for Tusla and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

My Department operates control programmes on all departmental schemes, designed to ensure that payments cease where there is no longer an entitlement. Child benefit operates a very effective and efficient control programme, ensuring that payment is only paid to families who continue to have such an entitlement.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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What I sought to ascertain when I tabled the question was an assurance from the Minister that we would not change the current system and link the payment of child benefit to school attendance. I do not detect any such assurance in his reply. Unless I misunderstood the Minister, he has suggested it is a matter for another Department. Many people are worried about the issue. They are worried about the statement in the programme for Government that indicates there would be a link between school attendance and payment of child benefit. The Minister is familiar with the statement in the programme for Government which he negotiated with some of the Government's Independent supporters. Could he explain what exactly the statement in the programme for Government means and what its implications will be?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am happy to give further clarity to the Deputy on this matter. Child benefit is a payment that is not means tested and is not taxed and I have no intention of changing that. The payment will remain un-means tested and it will not be taxed. Child benefit for children aged under 16 is not linked to school attendance but children aged 17 and 18 do have to be attending school or have a physical or mental disability. Controls are in place to make sure that is the case.

I had discussions last week with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, and the common view of the three Ministers is that those who are involved in educational welfare and monitoring truancy do not believe giving them a further tool with which to enforce school attendance by withholding child benefit payments for children aged 16 or younger would be useful. As that is a matter for them, I see no reason to change the law given that, in their view, the tool would not be useful, but it is the case for 17 and 18 year olds that the payment is linked to school attendance.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for that assurance. It would appear that the long answer is "No" and the short answer is also "No", so we are happy with that.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On foot of what is in the programme for Government, what is there and what is intended for it is better co-operation. Tusla has a system, the Department of Education and Skills has a system and the Department of Social Protection has a system of registering children in school.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Data.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Yes, data. We will be sharing more and better data to perhaps identify children who are not attending school or children whose parents have left the country and are no longer entitled to the payment, but the basic principle that child benefit is universal, not means tested and not taxed remains and I have no intention or plans to change the law in that regard.