The denial of child benefit to asylum seekers leaves children vulnerable to poverty and impedes their integration, it was argued yesterday.
The End Child Poverty Coalition, an alliance of seven non-governmental organisations, said that over 2,200 asylum-seeking children have been denied child benefit since the introduction in 2004 of welfare restrictions conceived to deter "welfare tourism" among citizens of EU accession states. The coalition called for the reversal of the restrictions, known as the habitual residency condition.
In a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs yesterday, the coalition acknowledged unprecedented increases in the universal child benefit payment in recent years.
However, the group noted that "the child benefit is not a completely universal payment - over 2,200 children seeking asylum have been denied child benefit. Without access to compensating mechanisms, these children are very vulnerable to poverty."
Maria Corbett, deputy chief executive of the Children's Rights Alliance, told the committee the only automatic payment asylum seekers in the direct provision system receive is a weekly cash payment of €19.10 per adult and €9.60 per child. Mothers can also apply for exceptional needs payments from community welfare officers for essentials such as nappies for babies or school uniforms for older children.
Unlike economic migrants, asylum seekers - who can spend a number of years waiting for their application to be processed - cannot take employment due to the conditions of their application.
These families' lack of access to cash also caused integration problems, Ms Corbett said, as parents could not afford to let their children attend birthday parties or other activities in their community.
"[Removing the universal entitlement to child benefit] was a political decision. It wasn't a necessary measure," she said.
In general the coalition welcomed recent increases in child benefit, but argued that this approach was relatively costly and was not the optimal way of reducing poverty rates. It called for further increases in child dependant allowances, payments which are made to all families reliant on social welfare.
"We want to give more money to people at the bottom of the scale," said Camille Loftus, head of policy and research at Open.
The coalition said that despite strong economic growth, child poverty remained a serious problem in the Republic.