Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if all children who reside here are entitled to the early childcare supplement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24457/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Children who reside in the Republic of Ireland, who are aged under 6 years and who are in receipt of Child Benefit from my Department, will, in most cases, qualify for the Early Childcare Supplement (ECS). A total of some 259,000 families with over 350,000 children under the age of 6, will qualify for this payment.

In a small number of cases, children resident in the Republic of Ireland do not receive Child Benefit from my Department as their parents are employed in a country with higher family benefits than this country.

Under EU regulations, family benefits are claimed in the country of employment and if the rate of benefit is higher in that country, no family benefits are payable by the country in which the family reside.

Families resident in Ireland, receiving family benefits from another country, are entitled to a supplementary (ie, a top-up) payment if these benefits are lower than benefits in Ireland.