Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1039. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost to provide an additional, second rate of means-tested child benefit to the households containing the 90,000 children living in consistent poverty; and if he will consider the introduction of such a payment. [11887/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Addressing child poverty is a key priority for the Government. That is why the Programme for Government 2025, includes a range of measures to support children and their families.

One such commitment is to “explore a targeted Child Benefit Payment and examine the interaction this would have with existing targeted supports to reduce Child Poverty such as the Working Family Payment and Child Support Payment.”

My Department is progressing this work having regard to the available body of evidence, including the work undertaken previously by the Economic and Social Research Institute, the National Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Taxation and Welfare.

While preliminary work is underway, it is too early to provide a definitive estimate of the cost of such a scheme at this point.

I trust this clarifies the position.