Child Benefit

Published: Sunday, July 12, 2009

The National Women's Council of Ireland welcomes the comments of Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mary Hanaifan T.D. recognising that 'child benefit is a highly payment of mothers' in Ireland. However any proposal to cut Child Benefit will be strongly resisted by the National Women's Council of Ireland and women in Ireland as it the only payment paid directly to mothers to pay for all the costs relating to children.

The Government have already cut Child Benefit from January 2009 Child Benefit is payable for a child aged 18 at half the normal rate. From January 2010 Child Benefit will not be paid beyond the month of the 18th birthday.

Child Benefit is used for a myriad of costs in relation to children - food, clothing, school books and uniforms and childcare. Due to the policies of Government it has become the one size fits all payment. In the absence of government subsidies to pay for childcare and given the abolition of the Early Years Payment, Child Benefit is now also the only payment to parents to assist with childcare costs. According the new figures from the OECD, parents in Ireland are paying 29% of their net income on childcare, the 3rd highest across the OECD.

The National Women's Council of Ireland is also concerned of the impact of any of the proposals to tax, means test or cut child Benefit would have on women who are in employment. The impact of the recession has resulted in reduced working hours for both men and women and families are clearly choices on the basis of what they can afford. Will the outcome of this recession be to remove the choices for women to continue working?