Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the cost and breakdown of each cost, of informing parents of the new early childcare supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20388/06]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, there has been great interest from the public regarding the Early Childcare Supplement, and a number of Questions have been asked in this House about the arrangements for this payment. The payment has also been the subject of a large number of telephone queries, both to my Office, and to the Department of Social & Family Affairs which will be administering it on an agency basis.

In keeping with the commitment to deliver high standards of customer service, the recipients of Child Benefit in respect of children under the age of six, who would therefore be entitled to the Supplement, were written to in a mailshot earlier this month to inform them of the arrangements regarding the payment of this entitlement. This information is of significant interest to a great many parents who are looking forward to this additional support.

Printing costs of the mailshot have amounted to €28,014, and postage to a further €101,045, making the total cost €129,059. There will be a further mailshot closer to the date of the first payment which it is anticipated will amount to a similar sum. On this basis, the total costs for both mailshots are expected to be just under €260,000. I am satisfied that this represents a relatively small amount in the context of the overall cost of the payment, estimated at more than €350 million in a full year.

In addition, I am informed by the Department of Social & Family Affairs that, from the experience of similar mailshots in the context of Child Benefit, one of the results of the exercise is likely to be that there is no net cost, but rather a potential for savings arising which would exceed the costs involved. In the case of this initial mailshot, some 4,500 were returned to the Department of Social & Family Affairs as the addressees were no longer resident at the listed address.

While I understand that approximately 17% of these have subsequently transpired to be living at new addresses in the State, and therefore still entitled to Child Benefit and the Early Childcare Supplement, past experience suggests that a substantial percentage of the remaining addressees will transpire to be no longer entitled to either benefit, for example as a result of their having left the country.

Until the exercise of this control measure is concluded, it is not possible to say what the net cost, if any, will be of informing parents of these arrangements, but I remain confident that this exercise will both maximise customer service, and ensure the greatest level of value for money.