Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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196. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding full-time education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41458/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Child benefit is a monthly payment to assist with the costs associated with raising children. It is paid to more than 600,000 families in respect of almost 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of around €1.9 billion in 2014. It is paid in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years in line with the statutory school attendance age. The payment continues to be paid for children up to their 18^thbirthday who are in full-time education, subject to certification from school or college of educational attendance for each of these years.

A Value for Money Review of Child Income Support Programmes found that the participation pattern in second-level education supports the 18-year age limit for child benefit. For families on low incomes there are a number of provisions to social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:

- qualified child increases (QCIs) with primary social welfare payments

- family income supplement (FIS) for low-paid employees with children

- The back to school clothing and footwear allowance for low-income families.

Therefore, I have no plans to make any changes to the age threshold for child benefit.

Budget 2015 increased child benefit by €5, from €130 to €135 per month or €60 per annum. In addition, the new Back to Work Family Dividend for long-term unemployed jobseekers with children and One Parent Family Payment recipients will enable these families to retain the child-related portion of their social welfare payment on a tapered basis over two years.

These measures recognise the sacrifices that families made during the economic crisis and their continuing difficulties. They are in line with the commitment in the Statement of Government Prioritiesfor a new deal on living standards for hard-pressed families. Strategically, the measures will increase the pace of the progress in helping people back to work, boost the recovery, reduce welfare expenditure in the long-run, and, most importantly, help the families in question to build a better financial future for themselves.