Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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228. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of Defence Forces personnel in receipt of the working family payment. [24061/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Working Family Payment (WFP) is an in-work support, which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. WFP is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are currently over 56,000 families with almost 127,000 children in receipt of WFP. The estimated spend on WFP this year is approximately €431 million.

To qualify for WFP, a person must be engaged in full-time insurable employment, which is expected to last for at least 3 months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week. A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria. The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them or is supported by them. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount, which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.

The figures for Defence Forces families in receipt of WFP are as follows:

*as at 30^thMay 2018

It is important to note that the figures for 2018 above are based on the amount of families in receipt of WFP for the relevant week - figures may go up or down depending on the week in the year.