Taoiseach ‘working on’ scheme similar to second tier of child benefit

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Taoiseach has signalled there will be “something” similar to a second tier of child benefit in the Budget.

The Economic and Social Research Institute has found that a second tier of means-tested child benefit would be the most cost-effective option of reducing child poverty.

Asked if Budget 2026 would be the year a second tier of child benefit would be introduced, Mr Martin told reporters: “I’m working on that.

“I had discussions last evening with the Minister for Social Protection and his officials.

“We will do something on that or equivalent to that.

“There are complexities in terms of getting such a system up in place, so we don’t want anyone to lose out – there’s a set of existing payments that are beneficial to children and vulnerable families in vulnerable situations so there is a bit of work to be done in terms of devising a new system.

“But to all intents and purposes, that’s the kind of direction we we want to go down.”

Mr Martin made the comments at a Child Poverty Summit at Aviva Stadium on Thursday, which brought together service providers, state agencies and NGOs involved in the care of children.

He said: “The key objective is to reduce child poverty over the next number of years. The first manifestation of our efforts there will be the forthcoming Budget.

“I’ve had meetings with ministers already emphasising the need to prioritise the reduction of child poverty.”

Earlier this week, Cabinet signed off on a new target for reducing child poverty to 3 per cent by the end of the decade.

The Taoiseach the goal will guide cross-Government policies and ensure investment is targeted at families and children “who need it the most”.

The CSO’s 2024 survey on income and living conditions found that the consistent poverty rate among children was 8.5%.