Over One Million Children To Benefit From Government's Child Benefit Increases

As a result of the new increases, Child Benefit rises to €160.00 a month for each of the first two children and €195.00 for the third and subsequent children.

Child Benefit is being increased by €10.00 a month for both the lower and higher rates of child benefit. It brings, for example, the monthly income from the benefit to €320 for a family with two children, increasing to €710 for those with four children, and to almost €1,500 for a family with eight children.

In the case of the 340,000 children of families on social welfare who have been receiving the single rate weekly Qualified Child Increase of €22 since January, the rises in the QCI and Child Benefit combined will mean they are over €30 a month better off.

Child Benefit payments have now increased over fourfold in the past ten years and are paid to more than one million children at a cost in 2007 of more than €2 billion.

The Minister for Social Affairs, Séamus Brennan T.D., also released updated statistics detailing how the increases in welfare supports, including Child Benefit, Qualified Child Increase (formerly Child Dependence Allowance or CDA's), Family Income Supplement and Back to School Allowance, in addition to the €1,000 a year Early Childcare Supplement, are boosting the incomes of families on welfare, jobseekers and low incomes.

These show, for example that a single parent earning €16,000 and with one child aged under six has gained by €1,347 to bring their annual income from welfare alone to €11,842. For a single parent in similar circumstances, but earning €20,000, the gain is over €3,740.

A single parent with four children and with no earnings will have a total welfare income of almost €26,500, an increase of more than €2,500 on the 2006 payments

Minister Brennan said, "With these new increases the Government has surpassed its commitment on child benefit.

"Honouring this commitment represents a significant contribution to the alleviation of child poverty and support for children generally.

"Child Benefit is a universal payment that supports all children in all circumstances. However, despite exceptionally high investment in welfare supports, the reality is that we still have unacceptable remaining levels of child poverty. It is not acceptable that in modern, 21st century Ireland there should still be children who must still endure poverty, deprivation and distress.

"That is why I am determined to finds ways of channelling additional and targeted resources directly to support these children and their families.

"The rise in the Qualified Child Increases for the first time in over a decade in the last Budget signalled a more selective approach to child income support by targeting more resources directly towards that one third of children who are mainly in Lone Parent families and other welfare and low income households," he concluded.