Govt accused of reneging on child benefit commitments
14/04/2005 - 12:48:46The Society of St Vincent de Paul has accused the Government of reneging on its commitments regarding increases in child benefit payments.
Last week, child benefit increased by €10 a month for the first two children and €12 a month for subsequent children, in line with announcements made in last December's budget.
This brought the rate for the first two children to €141.60 per month and for subsequent children to €177.30 per month.
St Vincent de Paul said it welcomed the increases, but pointed out that they fell short of Government commitments in the Sustaining Progress agreement to increase the rates to €149 and €185.40 respectively.
