Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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206. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the full-year cost in 2016 of increasing the qualified child increase by €5; by €10. [35950/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The estimated cost in 2016 and in a full year of increasing the qualified child increase by €5 and by €10 is €93.7 million and €187.3 million, respectively. This includes the costs related to the Back to Work Family Dividend.

On Budget Day yesterday, I announced a social welfare Budget package for 2016 with four key aims:

- To increase supports for pensioners aged 66 and over.

- To strengthen supports for families with children.

- To increase the momentum to date in helping jobseekers back to work.

- To provide targeted assistance for vulnerable groups.

In regard to families with children, I am pleased to be in the position to improve supports for families with children. These measures included:

- A €5 increase in Child Benefit, which increases the rate from €135 to €140 per month per child. This will benefit over 623,000 families in respect of almost 1.2 million children.

- Increased funding for the School Meals programme of €3 million, bringing the provision to €42 million in 2016.

- The introduction of a new Paternity Benefit scheme whereby fathers will, for the first time, have the option of applying for 2 weeks’ leave in respect of births from September 2016. This measure recognises the important role of fathers in bringing up their children.

- An additional €18 million to increase the Family Income Supplement(FIS) thresholds - by €5 for a family with one child and by €10 for a family with two children or more. The measure will benefit nearly 60,000 families and over 131,000 children.