Child benefit will come under the microscope in today's Budget. But parents and lobby groups are mobilising to protect what they say is a crucial family benefit. CARL O'BRIEN, Social Affairs Correspondent, reports
MOST DAYS Heather Campbell barely has a chance to catch breath, rushing around to ferry her five children to various activities before and after school.
“There’s the band practice, the camogie, the Gaelic football, the school choir. You’re going here and there like a yo-yo most days,” jokes Campbell, a single mother from Clondalkin whose children range in age from seven months to 14.
“Your job as a parent is to look after your children to the best of your ability. All these activities cost money. Even school isn’t really free, with the school books, uniforms, fundraising drives and school tours. So you do the best you can within the resources you have available.”
And this is where the child benefit comes in. The monthly payment – worth about €166 per child – is a crucial crutch in Campbell’s life and that of her children. It’s the “bread and butter” of her family budget, she says, which allows her children to have the best chance in life and fulfil their potential.
“It’s reassuring that it’s always there. For low-income families, it’s the difference between being able to give your children a decent quality of life. It reduces the risk of marginalisation and means you can afford access to health, education, transport. And it means being able to give them the best start in life.”
But Campbell, like thousands of other parents around the State, is facing a gnawing period of uncertainty. As the Government prepares to rein in public spending, the payment of child benefit is suddenly up for discussion.
While Government sources indicate it will escape being cut in today’s emergency Budget, the likelihood is it will be on the agenda in the near future.
By the time the next Budget comes around later this year, “Bord Snip” will have issued its report on possible spending cuts and child benefit is most likely to top the agenda.
It’s not hard to see why. At a cost of almost €2.5 billion, it’s one of the biggest welfare payments, devouring a large chunk of the Exchequer spending every year.
But the fact that it’s paid to virtually every family in the State also means – at least in the eyes of the Government – that it is a hugely inefficient payment in tackling social exclusion and marginalisation.
Having already dismantled the notion of universal payments in terms of medical cards for older people, many now believe the next payment in the firing line is child benefit.
The National Women’s Council is one of a number of organisations mobilising to resist plans to cut the benefit. It is calling on the Government to protect child benefit payments in light of its research which, it says, shows the crucial importance of the benefit to parents.
The survey, based on a random sample of 200 of its members, found that a total of 66 per cent of respondents said it was “a critical part of family income”, while 28 per cent described it as “an important part of family income”.
When asked what effect a cut of child benefit would have in today’s Budget, some 45 per cent said it would be “an absolute financial disaster” for their families if this were to happen.
A total of 24 per cent described child benefit as their “survival cushion” at the moment, with 12 per cent saying that they could not pay for childcare.
“The views that we received through this survey from our member organisations are that parents are literally struggling to make ends meet at the moment,” according to Orla O’Connor, the council’s head of policy.
“Therefore, we’re urging the Government to protect payments to parents in the Budget and in forthcoming budgets. Child benefit and the early years supplement are the only supports to parents to pay for all the costs of rearing children, including childcare,” she says.
At a time when the costs of many services are falling, childcare costs still seem to remain stubbornly high. The council’s research indicates that the majority of respondents say their childcare costs have increased or remained static in recent months, while just 3 per cent say the costs have decreased.
It’s a point also raised by the Irish Pre-school Play Association (IPPA) which says any cut in child benefit will result in more children being placed in unregulated care, where they will miss out on the benefits of quality early childhood care and education.
“Any cut will mean less money in the pocket of parents for pre-school,” says Irene Gunning, IPPA’s chief executive.
“For some families, this cut will force them to reconsider their pre-school care arrangements and force them to send their child to non-regulated care or indeed to send the child to school earlier.
“These are trends we’re already noticing through research we’ve been conducting among members about the impact of the recession on their business.”
Barnardos, another group resisting cuts to child benefit, points out that even at existing levels of welfare support, Ireland’s support for children is relatively low by international standards.
“Over 76,000 children continue to live in consistent poverty in our society, a figure that’s likely to increase over the coming year,” says Fergus Finlay, chief executive of Barnardos.
“It’s unacceptable that these children should pay for the economic downturn when they benefited so little from the ‘Celtic Tiger’.” Barnardos is calling on the Government to avoid taxing child benefit.
In the event that it is taxed, it says the savings generated should be directed into the qualified child allowance, while any savings made from cuts to the early childcare supplement should be ring-fenced for the creation of a quality pre-school system.
For mothers like Heather Campbell, today is a day of uncertainty. She will be waiting to see what happens, knowing that the Government’s plans will have a crucial impact on her life and that of her children.
“It’s very difficult when you’re on a low income. There is no way to make up the shortfall. When I budget, I plan a year or two ahead. You need a year to save up to send a child to the Gaeltacht or on an exchange.Any change in child benefit will affect that,” she says.
She also believes strongly in maintaining the universal nature of the payment.
“Yes, there are some who mightn’t need it – but not every mother will necessarily have money for her children. It goes into the hands of women – or men where they’re the main parent – which ensures it goes on parenting. That’s very important, especially where women don’t hold the purse strings. This is a payment for children at the end of the day – and we shouldn’t even be considering reducing it.”