Extra child benefit payments to poorer families would make a “significant dent” in reducing poverty, new research by ESRI has found. 

In the Programme to Government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael committed themselves to “an ambitious child poverty target ensuring a focus on inequality”. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, ESRI research officer Dr Karina Doorley explained what impact spending €772 million on a second tier of child benefit would have. 

“Really, to take a lot of children out of poverty, you need to give low income households a lot of money,” she said. 

“So, that would amount to about an extra €150 million on average for low income households. 

“But it would vary depending on whether they were on the lower end of the spectrum or the higher end.

“So, that would amount to a payment, on average, of about €285 per child when you account for the universal child benefit - as well as the means tested payment.”

Children queue up for a meal in a school canteen. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Dr Doorley continued that there are various ways of calculating which families should be entitled to the payments. 

“At the moment, there are 15% of children living below the poverty line in Ireland,” she said. 

“Another way that we measure poverty is using the material deprivation rate; so this reports on the proportion of families who can’t afford essential items - so, two or more from a list of essential items. 

“The proportion of living in households that can’t afford these essential goods is also very high at 21% - compared to the total population rate of 16%.” 

Dr Doorley added that a second tier of child benefit would “put a significant dent in these rates.” 

“It would reduce the number of children living in income poverty by 4.6% - so, that would lift 55,000 children out of income poverty,” she said. 

“It would reduce the consistent poverty rate - which is the overlap between material deprivation and income poverty. 

“So, this is the really vulnerable group who are both income poor and cannot afford essentials by 2.1%. 

“That would lift 25,000 children out of consistent poverty.”

Child benefit is currently paid to all parents at a monthly rate of €140 per child.

Main image: Old shoes of a little boy. Picture by: Ralf Geithe / Alamy Stock Photo