Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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193. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the total number of recipients of child benefit payments; the extent to which this has fluctuated in the past two years and is likely to so do in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6349/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16 and 17 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves.

In 2022 the end of year total in receipt of Child Benefit was 648,053 claimants receiving payment in respect of 1.2 million children. The end of year totals for 2021 and 2020 were 630,663 and 633,456 claimants respectively.

The number of Child Benefit payments made in any year is related to a number of factors, including the birth rate, the number of families migrating to the State and the number of families leaving the State.

In 2022 Child Benefit was paid to 12,400 families in respect of 17,300 children, who came to Ireland from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive.

It is not possible to predict future fluctuations in the number of payments with any degree of certainty.

I trust this helps clarify the position for the Deputy.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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194. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which waiting times for payments in respect of means-tested applications compare with contribution-related payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6350/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department reports on targets agreed between the Management Board and relevant scheme areas on a scheme by scheme basis and not on the basis of processing times for means tested schemes compared to those for contributory based schemes.

Some schemes such as long-term illness related schemes require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer resulting in longer processing times while other schemes may not require the same level of documentation and can be processed in a shorter time span. For this reason all scheme specific eligibility criteria is taken into account when establishing each schemes processing target. This being the case, a comparison between processing times for means tested schemes versus contributory schemes is of little value.

On a monthly basis, each schemes actual processing is compared to their target. In addition we look at the average number of weeks it takes award a new application. Any variance is then investigated and corrective action taken where required.

My Department strives to ensure that all claims are processed as quickly and efficiently as possible and customer service is maintained at a high level. I am pleased to report that the majority of schemes are meeting targets at present.

Processing times for the main scheme areas are as follows at end of December 2022:

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.