Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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981. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will extend the child benefit payment to parents who have 18-year-old children and older and who are in full-time post-primary education; if she can take into consideration the number of students who are now starting school at the age of 5 years and the consequences of this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37286/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Child Benefit is a universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Estimated expenditure on the scheme will be approximately €2.1 billion in 2023.

Any plans to extend Child Benefit in respect of children aged 18 years and over who may still be in post-primary education 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; and
• the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, where the child is in second level education.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.