Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Breen, to the House. He is my colleague from the mid-west and I am delighted he is here.

Many people have come to my office recently who still have children in school at the age of 18. Children start school at a later age now and are usually almost five years of age before they start. This means they are also finishing at a later age. In my time people did their leaving certificate exams at 16 or 17 years of age, but now most people are 18, and in some cases 19 years of age. Parents find that all benefits, including children's allowance, are cut off at 18 years of age, yet the period around leaving certificate in secondary school is a very expensive time for them. I am calling on the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, to look at extending the age limit for children in full-time education because it is something that parents and families are having difficulty with. Children have exams and exam fees, and are also involved in extra-curricular activities. It it quite an expensive time, yet parents find they cannot access any benefits or payments once they reach the age of 18 because their child is considered an adult, even though he or she is still in secondary school full-time.