LAST UPDATE | 8 Oct

THERE WILL BE no change to child benefit this year, and there won’t be any bonus payments for recipients this Christmas.

This year’s Budget was a much less flashy affair than than the previous year – it was certainly more selective with its goodies, and the bulk of the government’s spending increase won’t be going into people’s pockets.

While there was an increase to the child support payment announced, most parents won’t feel the benefit of this, as monthly child benefit rates remain at €140.

Yesterday, Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary announced that he was introducing “over €320 million in targeted measures to alleviate child poverty” as part of the Budget.

This did little to alleviate the concerns of opposition however – many of whom suggested that the child benefit payment should have increased, and a Christmas bonus should have been included in the Budget.

What was in last year’s Budget?

The 2025 Budget, often described as a “bumper giveaway”, was filled with one-off payments for families.

Parents received two double child benefit payments in November and December, and a permanent Newborn Baby Grant of €280 was introduced for children born in or after December 2024.

The child benefit bonus measures were not repeated in Budget 2026.

What’s on offer this year

While child benefit remains unchanged, there was an increase to the child support payment (formerly the Increase for a Qualified Child).

This payment goes to parents already receiving a social welfare payment such as jobseekers allowance or disability allowance.

The legislation surrounding the child support payment is litigious, however – you cannot claim it if your spouse earns more than €400 per week, or if you claim illness benefit, carer’s benefit or a State pension.

Under the new rates, the weekly payment for children aged 12 and over rises from €16 to €78 (up to €4,056 annually).

For children under 12, it increases from €8 to €58 (up to €3,016 annually).

The Department of Social Protection says this will benefit thousands of low-income families.

What about a two-tier benefit system?

In the weeks leading up to the Budget, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and Finance Minister had hinted at introducing a two-tier child benefit system.

That idea followed a report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which found that a second tier targeting low-income households could lift more than 50,000 children out of poverty.

The ESRI estimated the cost at €772 million, calling it “a price worth paying” to help end intergenerational poverty.

At the time, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said, “We will do something on that, or equivalent to that.”

However, Minister Calleary later ruled the proposal out, and it did not appear in Budget 2025.

Opposition reaction

Sinn Féin’s Finance Spokesman Pearse Doherty said “absolutely nothing” was given to parents, accusing the government of “a decision to continue to leave children in poverty.”

Doherty noted that child benefit rates were higher in 2008, then €166 per month for the first two children and €203 for subsequent children.

His party had called for a €10 increase plus a double payment this year, which he said would have provided an extra €300 per child.

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan also condemned the government’s stance, saying: “This Budget could have lifted 40,000 children out of poverty with a second tier of child benefit.