The first child benefit payments for the parents of certain 18-year-old adults will be issued from today.
The payment, which was announced by Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys today, will be offered for 18-year-olds who are still in full-time education, or who have a disability, up until their 19th birthday. Around 60,000 young people are eligible under these categories.
According to the Children Act 2001, “adult” is defined as “any person of or over the age of 18 years”, while “child” is defined as “a person under the age of 18 years”.
However, Humphreys said that the change in the child benefit system was appropriate, given changes in the ages at which people attend school in recent years.
“With many children now starting primary school at age five, together with the increase in pupils doing transition year, there has been an increase in the number of 18-year-olds still in secondary education,” she said.
“Child Benefit is one of the only mechanisms available to me to support and put more money back into the pockets of working families.”
The Minister added: “I believe the extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education is a long-term change for the better and will support families across Ireland into the future.”
Notably, according to the Minister, parents and guardian do not need to reapply if their child is in full-time education and the Department holds a current education certificate.
The child benefit payment will be reactivated from today as long as the education certificate is valid, and the payment will continue for as long as a valid education certificate is in place or the child turns 19 – whichever comes first.
Child benefit is paid on the first Tuesday of each month, at a rate of €140 per child.
Child Benefit is currently paid to over 650,000 families for over 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of more than €2.1 billion in the year of 2024.
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Madness a kid can legally drink smoke get married drive a car and leave home
at 18….the working people are not getting anything back from this government of our hard earned money. Just let people know an 18 year old is legally able to work and earn money for itself.!!!how about giving Irish kids the same college expenses that the Ukrainians get.!!
Bobby children don’t start school until they are 5 now so they are still in school at the age of 18. Childrens allowance is cut off the minute a person is 18. It’s being extended until they are 19 now. I think it’s only right for parents €140 as children grow its nothing, shoes and clothes and school supplies get more expensive.
the amount of nutters posting pure and utter scutter here is unbelievable, great that teenagers will stay at school and continue their education, every penny counts in a low income house 👍
There’s probably a lot of families who are helped by this, but I’d rather government moved away from encouraging dependence. Like, the kid can get a job. All these extras: It’s death by a thousand cuts to the tax payer. And if the parents simply paid less tax, it would be functionally equivalent.
Government welfare should really be just covering people who are in a bad way and can’t look after themselves. Child benefit for young kids makes loads of sense because it encourages parents who might otherwise not have kids because it’s so expensive, but for adults… seems like a bit of spending ahead of the elections to take advantage of short term memory.
My views on welfare are the same as migrants: we’ll help you, but there’s a point where we’ve done our bit and we’re looking after ourselves. Paying 60% income tax, 23% VAT, etc, just too much. Government always finds a way to expand. Let’s get these numbers down.
Agreed , a part time job for 16 year old + is a great for a teenagers independence, to learn the value of money & how to manage it , great for instilling a sense of work ethic etc. Perhaps if more teenagers worked in traditional part time jobs in supermarkets, restaurants & cafe’s instead of being mollycoddled at home , we’d be less dependent on importing labour from abroad !
Abolish Transition Year.
No other country does it.
I have always considered it a cod.
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Just found out Dickie Burke introduced it in 1974 because of Leaving Cert “stress”.
ROTFLMAO.
I did the Leaving in 74. There was no stress, no points, except maybe for medicine. All I needed for Engineering in either UCD or TCD was 2 Honours C’s, one of them Maths, and I got a letter from each confirming it BEFORE I did the LC.
74 LC was easy.
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If the kids want a year off of school, so be it, let them get a job out of school and hold a place in 5th year for them.
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But TY is bollocks.
An increasingly desperate political establishment class attempting the buy their way out of the hole they keep digging. There is only one issue at play and that is mass immigration, all other issues in terms of housing and funding and availability of public services are impacted by this. Do not be distracted
The bribes just keep on coming, it will be like the dreams of avarice come budget day.
Can they not work part time like the rest of us did at that age!!!! Handing every one everything for free. What about us working people who pay our taxes…why is it always us that is punished!!!!!! Too many people in this country getting hand outs!!!
proper order , this system is in Sweden and Germany for last 20 years , every school their has free dinner meals and breakfast too,ff/fg have Absolutly shafted tihe working people of Ireland and those that are forced to emmigrat,