John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 197: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on the payment of benefit to parents who have separated and have joint custody of their children; if the payment of benefit should be split between both parents; the reason benefit is paid to one parent only; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41241/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Child benefit (CB) is a tax free non means tested benefit paid monthly in respect of all children up to the age 16 years and in respect of children over 16 years of age up to their 18th birthday who are in full time education or have a disability. Child Benefit assists parents in the cost associated with raising children and it contributes towards alleviating child poverty.

Under the provisions of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, Child Benefit is payable to the person with whom a qualified child normally resides. The needs of the children, however, are the priority consideration in the operation of the current child benefit arrangements. The regulations governing normal residence for Child Benefit purposes, provides that a child who is resident with both parents shall be regarded as being normally resident with the mother. Consequently the benefit is normally paid to the mother rather than the father. Where there is joint equal custody, the child benefit is paid to the child's mother. The scheme does not provide for the splitting of the payment between parties in joint custody cases.

Where there are shared responsibilities for children between separated parties, there can be a wide variety of such arrangements. A substantial change in the current arrangements is likely to give rise to a range of issues which would add considerably to the complexity in the administration of the Child Benefit scheme. The current policy of paying the benefit to the mother on the basis that it is in the interest of the child has received explicit or implicit support from a number of sources such as the Commission on the Status of Women Report (1972) and the Economic and Social Research Institute's publication entitled "Income Distribution within Irish households" (1994) . Nonetheless, I am aware of the need to keep this approach under review in the light of equality legislation, significant social changes and changing family demographics.