Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The child benefit amendment stood out for me most. I went back over the Dáil debate and the reason given by the Minister for the amendment, specifically in regard to the Department of Social Protection being able to extract information from employers regarding a person working in the State or not. This affects employees who are not ordinarily from Ireland but who are working here and are entitled to child benefit. It concerns me that the amendment is too broad and is not specific to that cohort. It could be used as a data grab in regard to a person who takes up employment in the future, to actually access information that ordinarily should not be available. Irish citizens are entitled to that universal payment and it is not attached in any shape or form to a person's employment. The current situation provides that an Irish citizen availing of children's allowance must get proof from the school, when the child turns 16, that the child is still attending the school. As a parent, that gives me agency to get the information required by the Department of Social Protection. We should give non-Irish people who are working here that same agency to allow them to go to their employer, instead of the Department having direct access to their employment information.