Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 264: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the way in which family payments for children are made in Spain based on the place of residency of the child; and if she will investigate if a similar approach could be adopted under Irish legislation in respect of child benefit payments. [44456/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Entitlement to benefits financed from general taxation, rather than social insurance contributions, such as child benefit and social assistance payments, are normally limited to residents in the State paying the benefits, in accordance with international practice. Persons coming from abroad who claim these benefits generally have to satisfy an habitual residence test, to avoid entitlement being granted to people who only have a temporary attachment to the State and whose main centre of interests is in other jurisdictions. Habitual resident regulations on these lines were introduced in Ireland with effect from 1 May 2004 to ensure that persons who have not worked in Ireland or who have not established habitual residence here should not be eligible to avail of assistance schemes or child benefit.

These regulations are kept under review. This is to ensure that they effectively meet the objectives of confining entitlement to people habitually resident in Ireland, especially in the way they are interpreted or implemented, but at the same time do not have the effect of depriving people of benefits to which they should have an entitlement. Account is taken in such reviews of similar provisions in other countries, especially in EU Member States, including Spain, with a view to ensuring that the objectives of the regulations are met in accordance with best international practice.