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.'
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Extra.ie
5 hours ago
- Extra.ie
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.'
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The Journal
20 hours ago
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Almost 20,000 families have received the new newborn grant
THE NEWLY INTRODUCED 'newborn grant' has been paid out to almost 20,000 families since its introduction in the last budget, a Fine Gael TD has announced today. The grant is a one-off payment of €280, and is paid to families of babies born or adopted after 1 December 2024. The grant is in addition to their regular first month's Child Benefit, which is half that at €140. The new grant is paid automatically with the first month of Child Benefit payment, so parents of new babies do not need to apply for it. John Paul O'Shea, the chairperson of the Social Protection Oireachtas Committee, said that he had obtained figures showing the grant had been paid in respect of 19,750 babies to date. Advertisement Dublin had the highest number of newborn babies – 5327 grants were paid up until June. Leitrim had the lowest with just 115 grants paid to families in the county. O'Shea said of the grant, 'the arrival of a new baby is a joyful time for families but it's also an expensive time.' He added that the grant demonstrates the government's 'continued commitment' to 'putting money back in peoples' pockets'. He said that although the grant has introduced to support young families, the government needs to do more. It is estimated that in 2025, the grant will be paid in respect of some 54,000 children, at a cost of approximately €15 million. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
