MINISTER Dara Calleary has confirmed a double €280 Child Benefit payment for thousands will cost the State around €288million per year.
The Minister for Social Protection established the figure after he said his Department is “working on” a targeted new Child Benefit payment as part of efforts to tackle child poverty in Ireland.
The Department of Social Protection is currently exploring the interaction a targeted Child Benefit payment would have with existing targeted supports and to reduce child poverty.
Calleary explained: “Existing supports include the working family payment and the child support payment.”
And when asked by Sinn Fein TD Louise O’Reilly the full-year cost of doubling Child Benefit for those on the One Family payment and the Working Family Payment, Calleary confirmed it would be €288million.
Child Benefit is a universal payment, meaning Irish parents can receive the €140 monthly cash regardless of their income and PRSI record up until a child is 16.
Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their nineteenth birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability.
A double payment of Child Benefit for those on the One Family payment or Working Family Payment would mean a total of €280 per child landing into the bank accounts of eligible Irish parents.
Calleary explained: “My department currently has 83,241 children benefiting from One Parent Family Payment and 100,117 children benefiting from Working Family Parent.
“However, there are an estimated 11,500 children where the claimant is in receipt of both One Parent Family Payment and Working Family Payment.
“Consequently, the number of individual children supported by One Parent Family Payment or Working Family Payment is calculated at 171,858.
“Doubling the monthly Child Benefit payment for a year for each of these children would increase the overall expenditure on Child Benefit by approximately €288million per year.”
Calleary warned that these figures are subject to change, with the estimates based on figures from May 2025.
Child Benefit is currently paid at a rate of €140 per child monthly to over 650,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children – but it has risen by less than €10 in the last 20 years.
The monthly payment for a first child was €131.60 in 2004 and stands at €140 now, just six per cent higher.
But Taoiseach Micheal Martin previously confirmed that the Government is considering a second-tier Child Benefit payment targeted at poorer families in a bid to combat child poverty.
€285 MONTHLY CASH
The “second-tier” allowance worth an average of €285 per month would allow lower-income families to top up the existing €140-a-month benefit.
And those who don’t qualify for the extra cash will still receive the basic €140 payment.
Martin said: “I have a unit within the Department that is focusing on this issue and I’ve already spoken to Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary on this.
“Nothing is off the table. There is a wide menu of options to choose from to target resources to meaningfully impact on the child poverty situation.”
The proposed Child Benefit shake-up would lift some 55,000 children out of income poverty and 25,000 from consistent poverty, according to a recent report from the Economic and Social Research Institute.
It estimates that spending just under €800m a year on the scheme could halve the number of children experiencing consistent poverty.
But Calleary said it is a “complex issue” and an “unintended consequence” of a new system of child income supports could result in a lower payment for some parents.
PAYMENT ‘COULD BE SUSPENDED’ ALERT
The form is part of on-going control measures carried out periodically to confirm that qualifying conditions continue to be fulfilled by those receiving the social welfare payment.
The form, which is sent out via post, must be completed and returned within 28 days of being received.
And the Department of Social Protection has warned that the cash “will be suspended if the form is not returned within 28 days”.
The form requires parents or guardians receiving the universal Child Benefit payment to confirm details of the school or creche that their child attends.
Claimants are also required to confirm that both they and the child they are claiming for are resident in the State and detail any change in circumstances that could affect their Child Benefit claim.
He explained: “The work of the Department is to help those who are struggling.
“One of the considerations in the ESRI proposal was to amalgamate the working family payment with the child support payment but that would result in people losing out on what they are getting at the moment.
“If we are to do this, people cannot lose out. We have to look at expanding the working family payment and the child support payment as part of targeted measures.
“Anything we do in this space needs to be targeted and focused on those on low incomes, particularly workers.
“We have to ensure that people do not get a lower payment under a new system than they are currently getting.
“That could be an unintended consequence of some of the work we have seen today.”
A policy paper is currently being worked on to set out the options ahead of the budget.
Other areas being examined to reduce child poverty levels are payments for children of primary-school age, lone parents, working families on low incomes and children with disabilities.
Calleary vowed that any changes made to the social welfare system will be targeted and “focused on those most at risk” of poverty and those in consistent poverty.
