The Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin has said her Department is working closely with the Revenue Commissioners to devise a scheme which might be introduced to tax child benefit payments.
The Government wants to achieve significant savings on the €2.5 billion paid in child benefit.
She said that social welfare payments had increased ‘very significantly’ during the years of strong economic growth.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week In Politics, Ms Hanafin said the Government was awaiting the report from the Commission on Taxation before deciding whether to means-test or tax child benefit.
