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Almost 20,000 families benefit from new baby grant
Almost 20,000 families have benefited from the newborn baby grant introduced in the last budget, the head of the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee has claimed.
The grant of €280 was announced as part of Budget 2025 and is paid to families with babies born or adopted after December 1 last year, in addition to their regular monthly child benefit payment of €140.
Fine Gael TD John Paul O'Shea, chairman of the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee, obtained figures showing the new grant has been paid in respect of 19,750 babies so far. Almost 20,000 families have benefited from the newborn baby grant introduced in the last budget. (Photo by: ASTIER/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Dublin had the highest number with 5,327 newborn baby grants paid up to June while Leitrim had the lowest with 115.
Cork is in second place with 2,371, followed by Galway in third on 1,156 and Kildare with 1,056.
Mr O'Shea said: 'The newborn baby grant was introduced in last year's Budget to help families with the costs of a new arrival.
'The grant demonstrates our continued commitment to putting money back in peoples' pockets and ensuring all children have positive experiences and get off to a great start in life.' A medical worker is caring for a newborn 'dragon baby' in the maternity department of Zaozhuang Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shandong province, China, on February 10, 2024. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
He added: 'Looking after a new baby is a busy, costly and stressful time for families. The good news is the grant is paid automatically with your child benefit payment.
'This grant has been introduced to support young families but we need to do more.
'I want to see key commitments in the Programme for Government, such as the introduction of pay-related parents benefit, progressed so we can provide further support to young families.'
