Previously the manual payment process could take up to 8 weeks to complete. Child benefit payment will issue automatically for a second or subsequent child.
Child Benefit payments will increase next month by six euros for each of the first two Children and eight euros for the third and subsequent children, bringing the rates to an all time high of €131.60 a month for each of the first two children, and €165.30 for third and subsequent children.
Noting that the new on-line birth registration is now operational in three Health Boards, including the North Western Health Board and the roll out continues, Minister Coughlan said: “The re-design of the Child Benefit system and the integration of services clearly bring benefits for the customer and staff alike.”
“A single interaction between the customer and one public service agency brings significant advantages to the customer in terms of the simplification of the application process and the speed of delivery of service,” the Minister added.
The Department of Social and Family Affairs has embarked on a Service Delivery Modernisation programme which aims to deliver a high quality, proactive service to customers, using modern systems to facilitate more customer centred services and support e-Government strategies.
“These developments will allow my Department greater flexibility in responding to policy changes and customer needs,” Minister Coughlan said.
Of the 60,000 births currently registered annually in Ireland, approximately half will be to first-time mothers who will get an application form generated automatically by the Child Benefit system and most of the balance will receive Child Benefit payments automatically.
The roll-out of on-line birth registration in to all Health Boards will be completed by the middle of this year. Payments to 520,000 customers in respect of more than 1 million children are managed using the new system.
Minister Coughlan added: “The challenge now is to progress the delivery of other services while at the same time responding to changing customer needs while taking advantage of new and emerging technologies.”
Quelle: Politics, 29.03.2004
