Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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117. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of families that will benefit from the child benefit lump sum payment in June 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15185/23]

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.

Claimants in receipt of Child Benefit will receive an additional payment of €100 in respect of each child in June 2023 which will benefit approximately 652,000 recipients in respect of over 1.2 million children at a cost of €122 million.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people in receipt of the working family payment to date this year; how this number compares with the same period in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15138/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly tax-free payment for employees with children which supports people in low paid employment. The WFP is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents, and to offer a financial incentive to take up employment.

It is a targeted measure that is directly linked to household income and therefore directly supports low-income working families. There are currently 47,228 families in receipt of WFP. For the same period in 2022, there were 47,218 families in receipt of WFP.

An increase in the income thresholds of €40 for all family sizes was introduced with effect from 5th January 2023. This has resulted in an increase in payment across all awarded claims of €24 per week while also increasing the income qualification thresholds for customers.

The Department of Social Protection ran an advertising campaign to promote Working Family Payment for a 2-week period from Monday 30th January 2023 to Sunday 12th February 2023 to increase awareness of the Working Family Payment Scheme.

The easiest and fastest ways for customers to make an application for Working Family Payment is online via mywelfare.ie

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.