Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2026
517. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing child benefit by 10% and extending payment to all children aged 18 years or under, including those in the international protection process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51273/26]
View answerChild Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability.
Child Benefit is currently in payment in respect of approximately 1.3 million children with an estimated expenditure of €2.2 billion for 2026. The cost of increasing Child Benefit by 10% would result in additional annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €212.7 million based on the estimated number of recipients in 2026. It should be noted that this estimate is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
Where a child has a disability, Child Benefit continues to be payable until the child's 19th birthday whether or not the child is in full-time education. Otherwise, 16, 17 and 18 year olds must be in full time education in order for the payment to continue.
As of May 2026, my Department's records indicate there were approximately 16,000 16 up to 19 year olds whose Child Benefit payments had stopped as there was no evidence they were in full time education. Extending Child Benefit to these individuals, assuming that they were all single births, would therefore cost approximately €27 million annually at the current rate of payment.
To receive Child Benefit in Ireland, parents must be habitually resident in the State. Applicants for International Protection do not satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition and are therefore not eligible for Child Benefit.
The international protection process is the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. My Department does, however, administer the Daily Expenses Allowance, which is paid to international protection applicants who reside in accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Services, in order to meet incidental, personal expenses. As of June 2026 the Daily Expense Allowance was supporting 6,925 children.
Assuming that each child recipient of the Daily Expenses Allowance was a single birth, the cost to extend Child Benefit to this cohort using current rates of payment, would be in the region of €11.6 million per annum.
