John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2076. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the full year estimated cost of extending child benefit to all children up until the end of second level education regardless of whether or not they reach 18 years of age. [28512/17]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2101. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the additional annual cost to extend child benefit to all children of 18 years of age and under 19 years of age that are in full time education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28825/17]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2117. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider making child benefit payable to persons with children over 18 years of age that are enrolled in secondary school reflecting the higher educational costs for persons with adolescents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29107/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2076, 2101 and 2117 together.

Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child Benefit is currently paid to around 626,525 families in respect of over 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of over €2 billion in 2017.

Budget 2009 reduced the age for eligibility for Child Benefit from 19 years to less than 18 years. A value for money review of child income supports, published by the Department of Social Protection in 2010, found that the participation pattern of children in education supports the current age limit for Child Benefit.

The current estimated annual cost of extending the upper age limit for payment for those persons who are 18 years and under 19 years of age and in secondary school, based on figures from the Department of Education and Skills, is over €62 million.

However, it is not possible to give the full year estimated cost of extending child benefit to all those in secondary school who are over 18 years of age as these figures are not available.

Families on low incomes can already avail of a number of provisions to social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:

- qualified child increases (IQCs) 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 (paid at the full-time second level education rate).

I am satisfied that these schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked with household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.

Given the universal nature of Child Benefit making it payable to persons with children who are 18 years of age and in secondary school would not be a targeted approach. The adoption of such a proposal would also have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.