Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
1588. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection the interactions between targeted poverty payments and supports for families such as working family payment, child support payment and family leave benefits; the modelling undertaken of combined impacts on disposable income for families with children in or at risk of poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1911/26]
View answerThe Government remains committed to supporting all families in caring for their children through a wide range of supports, available across Departments to ease the financial pressures on families.
The Department of Social Protection provides a range of these key supports which include the Child Support Payment and the Working Family Payment.
Most weekly social welfare payments include an amount called a Child Support Payment in respect of each qualified child up to the age of 18, which is extended to encompass older children to age 22 under certain circumstances. The rate of the Child Support Payment is higher for children aged over 12 years, reflecting the higher costs involved in raising older children.
The Working Family Payment is a weekly, tax-free payment available to low-paid employees with children. It provides extra financial support to families with children with rates of payment based on household income and family size.
The Child Support Payment and Working Family Payment provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby support low-income families with children. We know, for example through ESRI research, that increases in the Child Support Payment and the Working Family Payment are very effective at tackling child poverty and increase disposable income for low-income families with children. This is why payments rates of the Child Support Payment and weekly thresholds for the Working Family Payment were increased significantly in Budget 2026.
The Programme for Government includes commitments to examine the extension of Parent’s Leave and Benefit and additional flexibilities and to introduce Pay-Related Parent’s Benefit and explore other payments where a similar model could be applied. Work is currently underway within my Department in this regard.
The CSO’s 2024 SILC data show that social transfers (excluding pensions) continued to perform well in reducing the at-risk-of-poverty rate, from 31.4% before social transfers to 11.7% after social transfers. This equated to a poverty reduction effect of 62.7% in 2024.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
