Benefit claims for children living abroad soar 400%

THE number of non-nationals applying for child benefit whose children aren’t resident in Ireland has quadrupled in a year.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs is receiving around 170 such applications per week, compared to 40 per week a year ago. Most of the new claims are being made by immigrants from the European Union accession states, mainly from Poland.

Awareness about entitlement to child welfare has grown since Fine Gael revealed that immigrants were entitled to the €1,000 payment for children under the age of six - introduced in the budget to address the rising cost of childcare.

The same rules mean Irish parents working elsewhere in the EU but whose children are in Ireland are entitled to similar benefits.

Child benefit payments are worth €141.60 per month per child, due to increase to €150 next month.

It’s estimated that 25% of Polish workers in Ireland have children at home. In Poland, child benefit is just e11 per month, while in Latvia it is €9. In Lithuania, parents receive €27 per child depending on income. The average wage in Poland is €650 per month.

There has been a steady increase in the rate of child benefit claims from non-national parents whose children are living outside the State - from 40 per week at the start of 2005 to 80 per week at the end of 2005.

The rate of applications nearly doubled over the past two months, from 100 per week in January to the present level of about 170.

By contrast, 350 applications are received every week from Irish and EU nationals whose children live in the State and a total of 65,000 applications for child benefit were made last year.

Out of a total of €3.3 billion, €290 million in child benefit was paid to children of non-nationals since May 2004 when the accession states joined the EU. It is estimated €4.3m was paid to children not resident here.

Under EU legislation, non-nationals are also entitled to Family Income Supplement. About 1,300 non-nationals are in receipt of this weekly payment of €108.75 out of a total of 17,445 families.

Fine Gael spokesman David Stanton said his party had “no problem” with parents from accession states claiming benefit for children living outside Ireland. “We still believe, however, that it is ridiculous that the €1,000 payment, which is supposed to cover the high costs of Irish childcare, is being paid to children who don’t even live here,” he said.

European Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said he finds the way some EU states are treating migration depressing.

“I have found some of the arguments advanced against the free movement of workers from the new Member States depressing and, frankly, distasteful,” he said.