Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Independent)
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405. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, and from the available data held by her Department and the Revenue Commissioners, the percentage of households with children receiving child benefit that are earning less than €30,000 gross income per annum, earning less than €50,000 gross income per annum, earning more than €70,000 gross income per annum, earning more than €80,000 gross income per annum, earning more than €100,000 gross income per annum, earning more than €200,000 gross income per annum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3139/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Child benefit is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost of raising children and it contributes towards alleviating child poverty. Child benefit is paid to around 600,000 families in respect of some 1.15 million children. The Government is conscious that child benefit, as a universal payment, can be an important source of income for all families, especially during a time of recession and high unemployment.

Given the universal nature of child benefit, claimants are not asked to make a declaration of their income or that of other members in their family. It is not therefore possible to make a reliable estimate on the basis of available data of the percentages of households with children receiving child benefit in the income categories detailed. A detailed estimate of this nature would not only require current household income data but also detailed specifications of the definition of income, whose income was to be included, what time period was to be considered etc.