Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Currently the births of all children born in the Republic of Ireland are registered electronically. The Department receives this information from the General Registrar's Office and allocates a PPSN to the child and also commences a child benefit application for them.

If the mother already has other children, the new baby is added automatically to the existing claim, and payment issues to the mother from the month after the child's birth. It is not necessary to fill out an application form or supply a birth certificate in those cases.

If the baby is the first child in the family, a partially completed application form is produced and sent to the mother to invite a claim. When she returns the completed application form, it is processed and payment issues, again from the month after the child's birth.

Currently, a person receives in the normal course 16 years child benefit, or 192 monthly payments, in respect of a child up to 16 years of age, as payments are made in advance each month, up to and including the month in which the child's 16th birthday occurs. In cases where a qualifying child continues in full-time education beyond the age of 16, child benefit will be paid up to and including the month in which the child's 18th birthday occurs.

There are no plans to change the current payment arrangements for child benefit.