Written answers

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Department of Social Protection

Child Benefit Payments

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she is committed to maintaining the value of total child income support payments at 33% of the adult social welfare payment rate. [28562/13]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The importance of child and family income supports is underlined by the fact that in 2013 my Department will spend almost €2.9 billion on supports to families and children through payments such as Child Benefit, the Family Income Supplement, qualified child increases on weekly social welfare payments, and the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.

The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion identifies a target range of 33% to 35% of the minimum adult Social Welfare payment rate for the combined value of child income support payments. Based on a definition of child and family income supports that consists of the weekly equivalent rate for child benefit (€29.92) and the rate for qualified child increases (€29.80) the current value is 32.1% of the minimum social welfare weekly personal rate (€186) and therefore falls slightly below the target range. However, it might be borne in mind that if the weekly equivalent of the lowest rate of back to school clothing and footwear allowance is included in the definition of supports (€1.92), the combined child related payments amount then falls within the target range, at 33.1% of the minimum social welfare weekly personal rate. Furthermore certain low-income families may also be in receipt of additional support from family income supplement payment.

Any plans regarding the amount paid in respect of such payments will be a matter to be decided in a budgetary context and announced on Budget day. I do not therefore propose to speculate on any possible approaches to payment rates or whether the target will continue to be met. Achieving a better design of the overall system of child income supports raises complex issues about the effectiveness and the efficiency of the full range of income supports currently provided to families and their children. In this context the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare prioritised the area of family and child income supports and its report on this issue was published in February. It is the Government’s intention that the report will now contribute to the broader policy debate on future of child income support payments.

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