Parents are set to receive their February Child Benefit payments earlier than usual following changes to the social welfare payment schedule.
The St Brigid’s Day bank holiday means banks and post offices will be closed on Monday, February 2, reports The Mirror.
As a consequence, any social welfare payments due on that Monday, along with Child Benefit normally paid on the Tuesday, will instead be issued or made available on Friday, January 30 or Saturday, January 31.
Because of the bank holiday, parents can expect their Child Benefit to be credited to their accounts on either the Friday or Saturday, which is standard practice when a bank holiday Monday falls before the first Tuesday of the month, reports The Mirror.
Below are the Child Benefit payment dates for the rest of the year, including months when payments may arrive early:
- February 3 (may be paid early due to St Brigid’s Day bank holiday on the 2nd)
March 3 - April 7 (may be paid early due to Easter Monday bank holiday on the 6th)
- May 5 (may be paid early due to May bank holiday on the 4th)
- June 2 (may be paid early due to June bank holiday on the 1st)
- July 7
- August 4 (may be paid early due to August bank holiday on the 3rd)
- September 1
- October 6
- November 3
- December 1
The adjustment to the payment date comes as no increase or bonus was announced for Child Benefit in Budget 2026, although a two-tier system remains under consideration by the Government, reports The Mirror.
Earlier this year, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the Government is considering introducing a second-tier Child Benefit payment targeted at lower-income families as part of efforts to reduce child poverty, reports RSVP Live.
The standard €140 payment will continue to be paid universally, regardless of income level, with the amount per child remaining unchanged irrespective of family size, reports The Mirror.
However, senior Government figures have indicated that a higher top-up payment could be introduced for third and subsequent children in an effort to encourage higher birth rates.
Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has suggested that introducing a second-tier Child Benefit for low-income households could lift as many as 50,000 children out of poverty, reports The Mirror.
In September, speaking on RTÉ’s This Week, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary said that implementing such a system would require a “complete rejig” of existing payments, something that would not be possible in time for Budget 2026.
He said: “We just need to look at the need to look at the supports already in place, in addition to the universal child benefit. We have the child support payment, which is paid in addition to child benefit to those on the lowest incomes”, reports The Mirror.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
