Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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405. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the three month time limit to submit applications for child benefit for newborns has been relaxed given the backlog due to Covid-19 and the HSE cyber-attack which is causing delays with registering newborns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33071/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Regulations governing the Child Benefit scheme provide that claims should be made within 12 months of person becoming a qualified person (generally, the date of the child's birth) and there are provisions in place to allow late claims to be backdated where there is good cause. 

The requirement to register a birth within three months is a general requirement of birth registrations under the Civil Registration Act 2004 as amended, rather than a condition of eligibility for Child Benefit.

In order to assist new parents, if a child is born in Ireland and the parent is not already claiming Child Benefit for any other children, a claim form is automatically sent to the parent when the birth is registered.  If the parent is already in receipt of Child Benefit, the new-born child is added to the Child Benefit claim when the birth is registered. The payment begins automatically from the month after the birth. Where a birth is not registered within the required time (that is, 3 months) the parents must complete a Child Benefit form (CB1) and submit it to my Department.

I understand that the cyber security attack which targeted HSE systems recently has caused difficulties in the General Register Office which have in turn resulted in delays in the registration of births.  Where this has caused any knock-on delays with Child Benefit applications, such claims will be prioritised as soon as they are received and payments will be backdated to the beginning of the parent's eligibility.  Regulations provide that where Child Benefit is awarded, payment commences from the 1st day of the month following that in which the claimant became a qualified person.

It is important to note that even where a birth has not been registered within three months, Child Benefit payments will be backdated to the beginning of the eligibility period.  So, parents will not lose out on any Child Benefit payments as a result of the cyber attack on the HSE systems.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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406. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who have received ophthalmic benefits in 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [33095/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The number of claims for optical benefit in the period requested are detailed below:

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.