Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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134. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the degree to which family income supplement is paid to persons supporting families who live abroad. [7229/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Family Income Supplement (FIS) is a social welfare payment which provides an income support for employees on low earnings with families. To qualify for FIS the applicant(s) must be employed in the Republic of Ireland and their weekly family income must be below the set income limit for their family size which is based on the number of qualified children in the family.

As FIS is a family benefit under EU regulations, the residency of the qualified children within the EU does not affect entitlement. FIS is currently in payment to approximately 44,225 families and, of these, approximately 755 families (or less than 2% of total families) have children resident in another EU country.