The Government has lost the plot if they think anyone will give up a benefit that they’re entitled to…

did u ever hear such bull shit

So people who can afford to lose their children’s allowance get a choice but people who can’t afford to pay the household charge don’t!! This government have lost the plot. They’ve also lost the public support they had when elected. Same old, same old. Should just rename themselves as Fianna Fáil Nua.

Surely if someone wants stop collecting child benefit all they have to do is stop collecting it! After 3 months with no claims the payments stop and they have to reapply! This has always been the case!

If you can’t be bothered to go through the rigmarole of refusal you can gift the money back to the state. This doesn’t affect your tax account (I asked them).

So wealthy people are being looked after again. They get to choose. We see no choice for pensioners, low paid civil servants, people who cannot afford household charge. This has to be the silly season.

?? Who would give that up ? I think they have lost the plot !

What about the Politicians and their kids, they won’t survive without it and they are barely surviving as we speak!

Just another sign of a weak government that can do absolutely fúck all right without making a complete and utter balls of it.

How come the report Burton has say’s there is no way to return or decline the allowance?

As far as I understand it , no one is forced to apply for child benefit ! . It was traditionally made out to mothers !

This ridiculous idea further demonstrates the incompetence of the Irish political gombeens that inhabit Leinster house. Is there any moral / logical reason why millionaires and high income households are getting children’s allowance ? Why isn’t there means testing for this subsidy ? It is a national disgrace that this has been let continue while every low to middle income worker and the unemployed person has had to take major cuts.

There should be means testing, any household with a combined income over €60,000 should not be getting this subsidy from tax payers.

What a load of absolute and utter bollox. Make a decision about an income ceiling for Child Benefit, over and above which, Child Benefit will not be paid, made the decision, stick to it and execute it! Fannying around like this, giving people the option to refuse it is completely fúcked up, it’s a load of absolute bollox! What kind of a fúcked up country finds itself completely broke, yet still pays Child Benefit automatically to someone like Michael O’ Leary who earned 1.035 Million Euro in 2011, a man who had a personal worth of 187 Million Euro in the same year based on his Ryanair Shareholdings?!?

Just when you think our government couldn’t get more ludicrous!

One more useless solution by this Shower of reprobates, you couldn’t make this stuff up…!!!

Do they really believe that if people are entitled to something, they will give up that entitlement…These Clowns are playing Fantasy Govt, the only firm decisions they can make is to take money from those who really need it, while dancing around the wealthy elite.

The Blueshirts can’t be seen to be upsetting their wealthy cronies by Forcing cuts on Them…!!1
They save the “Forcing” of cuts, tax increases etc for those that can least afford them…!!!

I am sure the founders of Labour would be soooo proud of Moan Burton and the rest of her Smoked Salmon Socialist brigade…!!!

I know there are many out there struggling to get by on their weekly wage/benefit payment but I know of quite a few receiving social welfare who have enjoyed lovely summer holidays this year, how can they afford it? We are in the over €60,000 bracket and haven’t had a holiday for 4 years and can’t c our way to having 1 for a few years yet, I do wonder where we are going wrong!

I think if a household earns €75k a year or more, then they will not be entitled to childrens allowance, cap it, no expensive means testing and NO choice for the wealthy. Millions of euros leave ireland every year in childrens allowance, money for children that do not live in Ireland and do not have the expense of living in Ireland.

@ The Gregorach, First of all I must correct you on your false assumption that I am a socialist, I’m far from it, in fact I see socialism as a failed ideology. I would consider myself to be economically libertarian if anything.

I think the majority of people in Ireland would agree that a household with an income of €60,000 per annum is a fair figure considering the average industrial wage is around €35,000 per annum I think almost double this should be more than enough to get by without the need for the state to pay children’s allowance.

As for your contradictory statement about “poor” people not being worse off financially, I wont even bother with a reply.

@The Gregorach, it is clear for all to see, you are an idiot who contradicts himself on a public forum, exactly the type of goon that has Ireland in the mess it’s in. You contradict yourself and lie yet somehow have the arrogance to imply you or your opinion are worthy of consideration ? Your arrogance is a thin veil for your ignorance.

You come across as a self righteous troglodyte with the IQ of a rock, the type that never done a hard days work in their lives, always had daddy’s money to fall back on and never achieved anything in life under their own steam.

In short you are a non entity and an obvious troll, get back under your bridge troll boy.

Wat does my head in is how Joan Burton is all out to catch the social welfare fraud people n states how many millions in cash has been recovered. Yet that money has not gone back into the pot for those who genuinely need it. N I am a carer for my son who has aspergers n type 1 insulin dependant diabetes. Many more of us who rely on the payments Yet more cuts. Where does the recovered money go?

What about offering parents a choice, opt out of child benefit and if you do third level will be free if your child takes up a third level course within a prescribed amount of time. Your child doesn’t attend 3rd level…tough, that’s the chance you took.
If you wish to continue to claim your benefit and invest it in your child as you see fit, off you go.
It would take a large burden off the weekly expenditure of gov without reducing our investment in children…it’s only an idea.

It should really be a tax break and only those not paying enough tax get it paid. Means testing is actually expensive so you have to wonder would that have ever worked out.

@Doreen Savage, maybe you should do a course on money management, or are you living beyond your means ?

Does your family have more than 1 car ?
Did you and your partner get yourself into unsustainable debt through the purchase of a house that was beyond your budget ?
There is no way you should be struggling with that income, cut your cloth to measure, your obviously living way beyond your means in some manner if you haven’t had a holiday in 4 years.
Besides, how that is the responsibility of the tax payer is beyond me, there’s no way you should be getting children’s allowance with that income.