Donohoe clarifies child benefit proposal in Government plan

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe has insisted that no family will be punished by having child benefit withheld.

The Children’s Rights Alliance has criticised a proposal in the Programme for Government, which it said meant child benefit payments would be linked to school attendance. Families would be penalised and deducted State benefit if their child or children were unable to attend school.

However, Mr Donohoe said no family would be punished.

He said he wanted a singled integrated database with details when children leave primary school. This would establish if they continued on to secondary school and complete their education.

"We have an awareness of an issue regarding what happens child benefit during that period. We want to ensure children finish their education," he said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

“We will do nothing that creates the impression or the possibility that any family will be punished. Nothing could be further from my mind or those involved in the negotiations.”

The Minister said that while the move could save money, that was not his aim.

Fianna Fáil’s social protection spokesman Willie O’Dea said his party will object to any plans to link the payment of child benefit to school attendance.

“It is more regressive policies like what we have seen over the past five years. we’re going to oppose it,” the Limerick TD told RTÉ’s Today wit Sean O’Rourke show.

“The Government would be well advised now to withdraw this proposal and clarify the situation as has been demanded by the Children’s Rights Alliance,” he said. “The Government needs to clarify this. They will not get it through the Dáil because we will be opposing it.”

When asked about a claim by Denis Naughten in the Dáil last year that doing this would save €75 million, Mr O’Dea said: “I don’t know where he got that figure, but taking €75 million out of the pockets of some of the most disadvantaged people in the country, is certainly not what I would regard as social justice.”

He added: “The overwhelming majority of families whose kids have school attendance problems, want their kids to get an education. They’re simply not in a position to keep monitoring them, policing them, forcing them to go to school on a regular basis.”

On the same programme Tanya Ward of the Children’s Rights Alliance said potentially this was more of an anti-fraud measure. “We need clarity on this. We need an undertaking from the Government that child benefit will not be taken from any child for not attending school.”

Paul Mooney, president of the National Parents Council post primary, told the Sean O’Rourke show that he had concerns about bringing together two databases.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said he was “very underwhelmed” by the Programme for Government.

He told Newstalk Breakfast “there is very little detail, very little costing” in the programme and that after 70 days of negotiations, he thought there would be more information.

“We need more action, not more long-fingering or kicking the can down the road.

“If Paschal Donohoe is so sure about the costings then he should publish them.”

The Donegal TD criticised plans for tax cuts. “Of course people will like that, but the reality is that we cannot deal with the housing crisis, the health crisis, the problems with infrastructure, transport and broadband if they decided to cut taxes. It is simply impossible.”