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Dublin Live
4 days ago
- Business
- Dublin Live
Social welfare Ireland: Taoiseach hints at child benefit shake up as 'nothing is off the table'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that all options for addressing child poverty - including a second tier of child benefit - are on the table for Budget 2026. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to "continue to support families with the cost of raising their family through the child benefit payment". It also commits to exploring a targeted Child Benefit. It follows calls for the introduction of a second tier of Child Benefit. Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue in Dublin Castle, Mr Martin said he had identified "two very key areas" that he wanted Budget 2026 to prioritise, including disability and child poverty. The Taoiseach said targeted Child Benefit and all other prospects will be explored ahead of Budget 2026 in October. He said: "We will be examining all aspects of [Child Benefit] and I have a [child poverty] unit within the Department [of an Taoiseach] that is focusing on these issues. I already spoke to Minister of Social Protection Dara Calleary on this, but nothing's off the table. "There's a wide menu there that we can choose from to target resources to meaningfully impact on the child poverty situation. That's not just in terms of income supports, but also in terms of other initiatives in education, for example, the Deis+, which would target children in particular severe disadvantage and other areas. "The Child Benefit remains, but I'm saying we're looking at more targeted responses on the child poverty issue, which can come across a number of instruments." When asked if it was too early to examine the prospect of a second tier of Child Benefit, the Taoiseach repeated that "nothing's off the table". He added: "We're examining all options in perspective. We have to do something targeted and something that will have a meaningful impact on child poverty. Nothing is off the table. There is a very significant expenditure required for something like that as well. There's a range of measures for looking at this." Mr Martin also called for a focus on disability in Budget 2026. This, he said, would include income supports for people with disabilities, investment in respite and supports for transport and mobility. He also said that progress on ending the means test for carers will "obviously come under consideration". Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Dublin Live
16-05-2025
- Business
- Dublin Live
€76k flight bill for Taoiseach Micheal Martin's St Patrick's Day US trip
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Taxpayers spent over €76,000 on flights for Taoiseach Micheál Martin, his wife and eight other members of staff as part of St Patrick's Day celebrations, the Irish Mirror can reveal. This does not include money spent on accommodation on the six-day trip to the United States, which included stops in Texas and Washington DC. The Taoiseach's itinerary included the key meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House on Wednesday, March 12. The Foreign Travel Report for February, published by the Department of the Taoiseach, stated that "flights for Taoiseach and delegation from Dublin to Austin return for St Patrick's Day, 09/03/2025 to 14/03/2025" cost a total of €64,629.71. In response to queries from the Irish Mirror, the Government press office confirmed that an additional €11,780 was paid in March. It brings the total price of flights for the Taoiseach's St Patrick's Day trip to the US to €76,409.71. The press office confirmed that there were 10 people travelling to the US as part of the Taoiseach's trip Stateside. This included the Taoiseach, his wife Mary, the Secretary General John Callinan, Chief of Staff Deirdre Gillane, Government Press Secretary Paul Clarkson, the Assistant Secretary, Principal Officer, the Private Secretary to the Taoiseach and two Garda Close Protection Officers. The Government press office further confirmed that the overall cost of the flights included the cost of Mr Martin's wife's flights. For the transatlantic flights – from Dublin to Austin and Washington DC to Dublin – four of the delegation flew business class on the outbound leg and two of the delegation flew business class on the inbound leg. No information was provided about who flew business class, but the Irish Mirror understands that Mr Martin did. GIS confirmed to the Irish Mirror that "no accommodation costs have been incurred to date" by the Department of the Taoiseach for this trip. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade organised and paid for accommodation, which will be recouped later. The October Foreign Travel Report shows that flights for then-Taoiseach Simon Harris and his delegation's visit to Washington to meet then-President Joe Biden cost €14,743.61 Mr Martin flew to Austin, Texas, on Sunday March 9. On Monday, he attended the SXSW festival and met with the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott. He also attended a reception at the Consulate of Ireland in Austin. The Taoiseach and his team spent two nights in Texas before flying to Washington DC on Tuesday March 11. After arriving in the US capital that afternoon, Mr Martin attended the annual Embassy of Ireland St. Patrick's Day Reception on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, the Taoiseach had a full day of political engagements, during which he met President Trump and US Vice President JD Vance and attended a lunch on Capitol Hill held by Speaker Mike Johnson. Thursday consisted of meetings with business groups and IDA client companies ahead of the Ireland Funds National Gala in the evening. On Friday, Mr Martin held further business meetings before a meeting with high-level representatives of the US Jewish community. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
