Two tier child benefit

There's already another tier of child benefit, which is 0. If you have a child (who is an Irish citizen) who lives outside the EU, you cannot claim the child benefit for them, even though you are equally contributing to income tax here in Ireland.

like many benefits (free handouts) these benefits will be readily available to non-Irish nationals living in hotels and free accommodation. It will have little or no impact on the native and needy population.

The biggest determinent of your adult financial security is the socio-economic level of the household you were raised in. You had no say in the household you were raised in, it was all pure chance when/where you'd be born.

People, with secure financial situations, always like to think it's due to their hard work, intelligence or some other positive trait - in reality, luck plays the biggest part.

It's the same when those in perilous financial situations are considered. People like to attribute it to negative traits like fecklessness or stupidity - to admit that luck plays the main part would be an admission that many aren't comfortable with.

Where did the OP say they are “in a comfortable position financially “ ?

If you think increasing the rate of child benefit will lift the most vulnerable kids in this country out of poverty then you are very naive.

Get a job, get another job, work more.

My grandparents done it, my parents done it and me and my wife do it. It shouldn’t even be called a benefit. It’s a supplementary payment. A benefit is getting a gym discount because you work for X company. The system is all wrong here.

No I pay enough tax to fund other people's children already. If you can't afford them don't have them. A recession is coming, any spare money we have now should be used only for a rainy day or investment in long term projects.

I think CB should stay as it is. There are already other financial supports available for people who are on lower incomes. Increasing CB does not always mean the money benefits the children either.

The current rates are as follows:

(1) Child Benefit,universal = €140 per month or €32.20 per week.

(twins get 210 per child per month)

The CB rate is lower, both in nominal and real terms, than its previous peak.

(2) Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC), which is paid in respect of children whose parents receive social welfare payment

IQC child aged under 12 = €50 per week

IQC child aged 12+ years = €62 per week

The proposal from the ESRI is to replace the IQC with a suggested payment of €222.60 per week per child (aged 13 in the 2023 article).

This would reduce child poverty, yes.

But it makes non-working much more attractive.

Let's take the example of a lone parent with two children aged 13 and 14

Now: 244 + 62 + 62 = €368 per week

Proposal: 244 + 222.60 + 222.60 = €690 per week

This would nearly double the welfare income, it is an 87.5% in the non-working income.

I see see this acting as a strong pull factor for EU and non-EU migrants.

References:

• Poverty, income inequality and living standards in Ireland: Third annual report

https://www.esri.ie/publications/poverty-income-inequality-and-living-standards-in-ireland-third-annual-report

define "rich people" please

This would reduce child poverty, yes.

But it makes non-working much more attractive.

I see it as a disincentive to the parents to work - if you better your situation through hard work and education you may lose this extra child benefit. 

I don’t see it as incentivising or disincentivising parents in regards to employment at all tbh. There are far more factors than simply being dependent upon child benefit or income supports influence whether or not parents choose to gain employment, or what sort of employment opportunities are available to them than simply an extra couple of quid a week (subsidised childcare is already available to every parent regardless of their means, but it’s pretty shìt).

The idea of the extra payment is to lift even more children out of poverty, and it’s a reasonable assumption that it will do given children aren’t responsible for their parents lifestyle choices. It will enable families to better be able to provide for their children, and the children will be more likely to be able to stay in education for longer -

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0304/1500165-school-attendance-esri/

On its own though, I wouldn’t see it doing much, I’d like to see it provided in tandem with other supports for families which would lift them out of poverty and break the intergenerational dependency on welfare in the long term, so that through education at least, children will have opportunities to better provide for themselves as adults, whatever lifestyle choices they may make for themselves, including whether or not to have children and then complain that their neighbours are getting something they’re not and it’s not fair because they didn’t make the same lifestyle choices I did.

If I had an issue with something I’d be more concerned about arguing for greater support for my circumstances, as opposed to the idea that people in other circumstances shouldn’t be getting support from the State which has a duty of care towards all children, irrespective of their parents lifestyle choices.

Personally, I don’t see why subsidising childcare and subsidising increased welfare payments for children couldn’t be achieved if the idea is to address child poverty, it might even lead to a reduction in poverty rates among an even greater increasing segment of the population noted in the report Geuze provided earlier which observed -