Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of children for whom child benefit was claimed in each year since 2004; if there is a discrepancy between this figure and the number of children eligible for such claims; the action he is taking to counteract under-claiming of child benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter [32149/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Child Benefit can be paid in respect of every child under the age of 16 years, who is ordinarily resident in the state. Payment can be extended to the 19th birthday if the child is in education or disabled and incapable of self support. The benefit is paid to the qualified person with whom the child resides and, since May 2004, the person making the claim for Child Benefit must satisfy the Habitual Residency Condition.

In 2004 my Department introduced a new facility to simplify the claim process for Child Benefit. Since then all births registered with the General Registers Office are notified to my Department electronically on a same day basis. This information is used to automatically issue payment of Child Benefit to the mother for her new baby without the need to submit a claim, if she is already in payment for other children.

Alternatively if she has not previously claimed Child Benefit, a partially completed claim form is issued to her, which she simply has to complete and return to activate her payment. No birth certificate needs to be provided as this information is automatically updated from the General Registers Office. In addition, my Department has arranged for an information leaflet outlining this facility to be included in information packs given to new mothers at the country's Maternity Hospitals.

In 2004 there were 61,684 births registered in the country, the figure for 2005 was 61,042. The total number of Child Benefit claims received in these years was 75,891, and 79,330 respectively, the difference being accounted for by children born outside the country who moved to Ireland with their parents during these years.

Information of the availability of Child Benefit is widely available through my Department's website, network of local offices and An Post Offices. In addition Citizen advice offices and many voluntary groups have access to the information. As no data on the numbers of children who enter or leave the state is held, it is impossible to state categorically that all eligible children are being claimed for. However I am satisfied that with the structures in place to advise parents of their entitlement, the substantial value of the payment and the recent publicity concerning the payment that there in no significant under-claiming of Child Benefit and that the availability of the benefit is widely known.