Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of social welfare recipients who are in receipt of each of the three rates of child dependant allowance for each year since 2002; his views on the payment of all child dependent allowance payments at the higher rate; the cost of such a move; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30844/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently three different weekly rates of child dependant increases payable to social welfare recipients, €16.80, €19.30 and €21.60, depending on the type of payment. A half rate child dependant increase may also be paid in respect of a child in certain circumstances, for example, where both of the child's parents are receiving a social welfare payment or where one parent has earnings over a prescribed amount.

To standardise the three main rates of increases at the highest rate of €21.60 would mean that approximately 244,000 full rate payments and 92,000 half rate payments would be increased at a cost of approximately €52 million annually. Any child dependant rate increase would have to be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of available resources, and also in the context of broader social policy reforms.