Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he is excluding children of refugees and asylum seekers from his plans to alleviate child poverty; if, alternatively, he will be providing them with the same allowances as other children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11816/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The overall objectives behind the provision of child income support are twofold, namely, to bring about an improvement in the relative overall position of families with children compared with single persons or childless couples — horizontal equity — and to eliminate child poverty.

While a number of social welfare financial supports have an additional child-rearing dimension, for example, the one parent family payment, the back to school clothing and footwear allowance and the child-related income disregard in the farm assist means assessment, the three principal child income support payments are: child benefit, a monthly payment made in respect of all children; child dependant allowance, an increase paid to social welfare recipients in respect of dependent children; and family income supplement, a weekly payment made to low paid employees with children.

Child benefit is a payment to parents, usually the mother, for the support of their children. It is paid monthly in respect of each qualified child. There are no PRSI conditions and it is not means tested or taxable. Child benefit is paid to over 500,000 families in respect of almost 1.1 million children. The current rate of child benefit is €141.60 for each of the first two children and €177.30 for the third and subsequent children.

Child dependant allowance is an additional payment made to social welfare recipients in respect of each eligible child dependant. It is paid at one of three weekly rates, €16.80, €19.30, or €21.60 across the majority of social welfare schemes. Half-rate allowance is paid where the spouse-partner of the recipient is in receipt of a social welfare payment or where she or he has earnings in excess of a prescribed amount. Allowances at full rate are paid in respect of 264,000 children of social welfare recipients, while a further 93,000 half-rate payments are made.

Family income support, FIS, is a non-taxable, in-work income support for low-income employees with families. To qualify for FIS, a family must have at least one qualified child, a combined total of at least 38 hours employment, other than self-employment, per fortnight and have earnings below the specified income limits.

Since 1 May 2004, a new eligibility requirement, known as the habitual residence condition, has applied to social assistance payments and child benefit. This condition does not apply to qualification for contribution-based social insurance payments, or to family income supplement. The habitual residence condition is designed to safeguard the social welfare system by restricting access to social assistance and child benefit payments for people from other countries who have little or no connection with Ireland. All persons claiming welfare payments, including nationals of the new EU member states who applied for relevant payments after 1 May, are subject to the habitual residence condition. People who fail to satisfy this condition are offered the option of being referred to the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform which facilitates their departure home and provides full board accommodation pending departure.

Following on a commitment made in the partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, is undertaking a review of child income support and in particular considering the possible merging of family income supplement and child dependant allowances into a second-tier child income support payment. I look forward to receiving this report later in 2005. The issue of any new child income support payment to tackle child poverty and whether the habitual residence condition should apply would be considered at that time.