Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

640. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to extend child benefit to children over 18 years of age who are in full-time second-level education in view of the fact that children are starting school later and in many cases transition year is mandatory. [22016/19]

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

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, as of end-March 2019 to almost 632,000 families in respect of nearly 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of more than €2 billion in 2018.

Given the universality of Child Benefit, extending entitlement to parents of full time students in second level education who are over 18 years of age would not be a targeted approach.  The adoption of such a proposal would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.

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

- Increase for a Qualified Child (IQCs) with primary social welfare payments;

- the Working Family Payment for low-paid employees with children;

- the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance  

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