NWCI Submission on the Child and Family Income Support Report
Published: Monday, May 27, 2013
For families, particularly women and children, Child Income Supports, including Child Benefit, are important features of the Irish economic landscape. Child Benefit is a universal payment that made directly to all mothers, unless otherwise stipulated. The universality of child benefit is based on an understanding that those with children have higher costs than those without and therefore income is distributed from those who do not have children to those who do. It acknowledges that children are key to society and necessary economically and will be the ones to pay for the pensions of those now paying their Child Benefit.
In the current economic climate, the Child Benefit payment is increasingly under threat, in spite of the fact that most families are reliant upon it. Child Benefit recognises the role that is played by women as care givers and that fact that income may not be distributed equally within the home. Research shows that the vast majority of child benefit is spent either directly (on childcare, clothing, nappies, etc) or indirectly (on household bills that support the household in which the child lives) on children. In the Irish context, child benefit is also seen and used as a key mechanism to counteract the lack of investment and availability of affordable childcare where costs for full-time care for one child can be as much as €220 per week, a fact acknowledged by the Government when they introduced the series of increases to the Child Benefit payment to account for 'increasing childcare costs'. Child Benefit is also part of an overall package of Child Income Supports that target child-related assistance to families who are at risk of poverty. Child poverty remains a consistent challenge in Ireland.
In our submission, the NWCI welcomes the unanimity of the Group in its view that there continues to be a role for universality within the system of child income support and its statement that the State should provide some income support for all children.
However, the submission also highlights our concerns. The NWCI is concerned at the ratio as indicated by the Group. It is acknowledged that families on very low incomes may be compensated for any reductions to the universal element of the payment. However, it is the experience of the NWCI and its members, that families on low and middle incomes are struggling to pay for essential household items. It is also the experience of the NWCI that many parents use child income support payments, particularly child benefit, to pay for childcare to enable them to work outside the home. While these families may not qualify for the second-tier payment any reduction to the current universal rate would out them under unsustainable financial pressure and may result in a number not being able to afford to maintain employment and/or falling into debt and poverty.
NWCI Submission on the Child and Family Income Support Report