Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will take steps to reinstate the universal entitlement of all children resident here in Ireland to receive the child benefit payment, regardless of the status of the child's parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30936/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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From 1 May 2004 the requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit. The effect of the condition is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere is not paid certain social welfare payments on arrival in Ireland.

The question of what is a person's habitual residence is decided in accordance with European Court of Justice case law, which sets out the grounds for assessing individual claims. Each case received for a determination on the habitual residence condition is dealt with in its own right and a decision is based on the individual circumstances of each case. Any applicant who disagrees with the decision of a deciding officer has the right to appeal to the social welfare appeals office.

In accordance with EU regulations, an EEA national who is employed or self-employed in Ireland and subject to the Irish PRSI system, is entitled to child benefit in respect of the members of his or her family, even if the child is residing in another EEA state. I have moved beyond that and extended the payment of child benefit to the spouse of an EEA worker who is employed or self-employed in the State.

Persons who come to Ireland from the EEA to look for employment will not satisfy the condition until they obtain employment in the State. Asylum seekers who have been granted refugee status, or leave to remain in the State on the grounds that they are parents of Irish born children, or humanitarian leave to remain, satisfy the habitual residence condition provided they have lived continuously in the State since refugee status or permission to remain was granted. Asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision on their application for refugee status or who have had their application turned down, do not satisfy the habitual residence condition.

For the period from 1 May 2004 to 21 October 2005, the number of complex cases decided in respect of child benefit was 7,625. Some 6,378 of these, or 84%, were found to satisfy the condition, as were all of the non-complex child benefit claims made in that period. In total, only 1,247 cases have been rejected over the last 18 months on habitual residence grounds.

The operation of the habitual residence condition has been kept under review by officials of my Department since its introduction. The purpose of the review is to assess the impact of the condition on different categories of claimant, the organisational arrangements and the level of service provided to customers, to identify opportunities for improvements in the administration of the scheme, identify emerging policy issues and consider how these should be addressed.

Account is being taken of the views received from various groups and organisations who have an interest in the area. I expect to be in a position to draw conclusions from the review by the end of the year.