A DOUBLE-double child benefit, €420 in baby boost cast and a €400 lump sum payout have all been confirmed for Irish families in Budget 2025.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform of Ireland Pascal Donohoe announced the moves as part of a €8.3bn budget announced today.
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In a highly anticipated move it has been confirmed that parents will receive two double Child Benefit payments before Christmas.
A €280 sum will be paid out in November this year and again in December.
Pascal Donohoe also confirmed a double Foster Care Allowance would be paid out.
Delivering Budget 2025 he said: “To provide further support to families raising children, two double payments of Child Benefit will be made to all qualifying households in November and December.”
The rate of the Child Benefit has stayed the same remaining at €140 per month.
In a new measure for families a Newborn Baby Grant of €280 will be paid out in addition to the first month of child benefit, bringing the total payment to €420.
The move which was pushed heavily by the Green Party will see parents of babies born after January 1, 2025 entitled to the sum.
In an additional boost to new parents there will be an increase of €15 across the Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Parent’s Benefit.
In another huge move for families a €400 lump sum will be dished out to families in receipt of the Working Family Payment in November.
And in yet another move on the Working Family Payment the thresholds will increase by €60 per week meaning more families may be eligible.
The Child Support Payment, which was previously known as Increase for a Qualified Child, has now been confirmed to increase by €8 to €62, for those aged 12 and over.
For those under 12 the payment will increase by €4 to €50 with the changes to come in from January 2025.
And those receiving the payment are also in store for a major lump sum payment of €100 to be paid for each child in November.
Speaking in the Dail on measures targeted at children and families Minister Donohoe said: “Government’s ambition is for Ireland to be one of the best countries in the world in which to be a child.
“This Government has made eradicating child poverty an absolute priority and in the last five years, there has been a complete overhaul of supports available to parents.”
The Minister also vowed that the Government would “accommodate new measures in line with government priorities, including in childcare and disability”.
What is the child support grant?
SOCIAL welfare payments are made up of a weekly amount for the individual, which is called a personal rate.
The payments may also include an extra amount of money for your child. This is called the child support grant, but it was up until recently known the Increase for a Qualified Child.
The grant is not paid to people already availing of certain welfare payments, and in some circumstances only a half rate is paid.
HOW TO QUALIFY?
To get the payment, your child must:
- be resident in the State
- not be in legal custody
- satisfy the age condition for that payment
- live with you
Your child should be under 18 – or if they are over 18 the following applies:
You can continue getting an grant for three months after they leave second level education, or finish the Leaving Certificate.
You can still get an grant if your child starts work immediately after finishing school.
If your child is in full-time education and you are getting a long-term social welfare payment, or a short-term social welfare payment for at least 156 days, you will get an IQC:
- Until your child turns 22, or
- Until the end of the academic year in which they turn 22
ADDITIONAL FACTORS
The grant is not paid if the child is getting a social welfare payment or a Supplementary Welfare Allowance in their own right – except for Disablement Benefit.
However, if you are receiving a grant during the summer holiday period and your child begins to receive a social welfare payment in their own right, you will still get the payment. In this case, the child’s payment is reduced by the amount of the grant.
Your child does not have to be financially dependent on you. Your child can work and earn money and it won’t affect the increase paid to you.
A grant can also be paid on behalf of foster children.
You get a half-rate of the grant if your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant has an income of between €310 and €400 a week.
Only one increase is paid for each qualified child. If you and your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant are both getting a social welfare payment you will each get a half-rate for each child. There are a number of other scenarios where you will receive a half-rate of the payment. For more information head here.
EXCEPTIONS
You do not get a child support grant with the following payments:
- Working Family Payment (formerly known as the Family Income Supplement)
- Guardian’s Payment Contributory and Non-Contributory
- Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-contributory) Pension
- Death Benefit by way of Orphan’s Payment
You do not get the grant if you are claiming one of the following payments and the gross income of your spouse is over €400:
- Illness Benefit
- Injury Benefit
- Health and Safety Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Benefit or Disablement Benefit (Incapacity Supplement)
- Invalidity Pension
- Carer’s Benefit or State Pension (Transition)
- State Pension (Contributory)
There were a number of in school measures announced in Budget 2025 that will have a huge affect on families.
The Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining primary schools on a phased basis from April 2025.
And in a further step a School Meals Holiday Hunger pilot project was announced to kick off from next summer.
The free-school books scheme has also been extended to the senior cycle so parents of 5th year and 6th year secondary school students will no longer need to fork out for their school books.
An increase of €12 to weekly social welfare payments will also come as a huge boost for thousands of families across the country.
