Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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476. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection what happens to unclaimed child benefit payments for children under six months of age; and if there is a provision for these funds to be allocated to the child in some way if the carer does not apply or is not eligible for the benefit. [29324/24]

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, 17 and 18 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves.

Child Benefit was paid to 652,000 families in respect of 1.2 million children at a cost of €2.4 billion in 2023.

Child Benefit must be claimed by the qualified person within 12 months of the commencement of entitlement.

Claims can be backdated for a period greater than 12 months if the Deciding Officer is satisfied that there was good cause for the delay in making the claim.

There is no provision for Child Benefit payments to be allocated to the child in the event where a claim from the qualified person has not been made.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.