EU blocks linking child benefit to school days

Attempts to save the State money and replace child benefit payments with a school attendance allowance would be frustrated by EU regulations, the social protection minister has warned.

Joan Burton has received cost-saving proposals which would also remove payments to parents who may be resident in Ireland but whose children are in education abroad.

However, radical proposals by Independent TD Denis Naughten have been shot down by Ms Burton, ahead of her own budget plans, which are expected to seek millions of euro in savings.

Mr Naughten claimed that between €100m and €135m could be saved per annum if child benefit for school age children was replaced with a school attendance allowance.

Such a payment system would remove the need to pay €13.2m each year to children not resident in Ireland, he explained.

Mr Naughten said: “I believe if the payment was no longer a universal child benefit payment, then payments to children outside the State could be ceased.

“In its place, child benefit would only be paid to children of school-going age, at which point it would be replaced by a new school attendance payment that is paid up to a child’s 18th birthday.”

Under the proposals from Mr Naughten, a TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim, the parents of children who are found to be absent from school for more than 20 days in any academic year could also have their payments suspended.

Mr Naughten, who was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party over health cuts, claimed the reforms would also help cut fraud and protect payments in the long term for struggling and vulnerable families.

On top of removing payments for children not resident in Ireland, the move could also reduce fraud and overclaims, saving taxpayers between €10.5m and €36m per year, he added.

Ms Burton, however, has warned that attempts to cut off payments for parents here, whose children live abroad, would run into difficulties.

In a letter to Mr Naughten, Ms Burton explained that EU nationals in Ireland are entitled to the same child benefit under regulations.

However, Ms Burton added: “Notwithstanding, this, as stated in the Programme for Government, we intend to raise the issue of child benefit in respect of non-resident children at EU level, with a view to seeking to have the requirement to pay an entitlement modified to reflect the cost of living where a child is resident.”