New data shows that more than 3,000 people who do not live in Ireland are receiving Child Benefit for over 6,000 children, reports The Mirror.
This amounts to a minimum of €866,040 in monthly Child Benefit payments for children residing abroad, totaling around €10.4 million annually.
However, the total amount could be even higher due to increased payments made in cases involving twins or triplets, reports The Mirror.
Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary disclosed the figures in response to a parliamentary question submitted by Fine Gael TD John Paul O’Shea.
The TD for Cork North-West requested a breakdown of Child Benefit being paid to individuals living outside Ireland.
Child Benefit is automatically paid each month at a rate of €140 per child to parents or guardians of children under 16, reports The Mirror.
Since 2024, parents can also apply if their children are 16, 17, or 18 and still in full-time education or if they have a disability that prevents them from supporting themselves.
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Minister Calleary explained that Child Benefit falls under “Family Payment” under European Union (EU) rules.
If a citizen from the UK, EU, or European Economic Area (EEA) is employed in Ireland, they may qualify for Irish Child Benefit, reports The Mirror.
Even if the child resides in a different EU or EEA country than the working parent, they are still eligible for family benefit payments in the country where the child lives.
Minister Calleary stated: “As of April 30, Child Benefit was being paid to 3,381 customers in respect of 6,186 non-resident children.”
Altogether, recipients in 22 different countries were receiving these payments, reports The Mirror.
The highest number of claims came from the United Kingdom, where 1,310 individuals were receiving Child Benefit for 2,695 children.
Meanwhile, 1,129 individuals were receiving the payment for 1,129 children in Poland, and 685 people were claiming for 1,320 children living in Romania, reports The Mirror.
In other countries, recipient numbers were in the hundreds, with payments also being made in places such as Lithuania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Spain, Slovakia, Latvia, and Hungary.
Deputy O’Shea told the Irish Mirror he sought the figures to support his role as Chair of the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee.
He said: “As the newly elected chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, I have put in a series of questions about expenditure across a range of different schemes, such as disability, illness benefit and child benefit,” reports The Mirror.
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