There has been a significant fall this year in the number of child benefit claims made by EU migrant workers whose children are living in their home country.
Figures compiled by the Department of Social and Family Affairs show that while it received an average of 300 such claims every week in 2006, the average so far this year has dropped to 220.
Over the past two months the weekly average has fallen to 160 claims.
Under EU law employees from any member state can claim child benefit in the country they are working in, even if their children are living in their home country.
Child benefit is currently being paid to 1,280 families in respect of 2,985 children resident outside the Republic. About 45 per cent of these children reside in the UK, while a further 40 per cent live in Poland.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Labour's Emmet Stagg, Minister for Social and Family Affairs Martin Cullen said it is estimated that the total cost of child benefit for EU migrants with non-resident children will be €114 million, or 5.2 per cent of overall child benefit expenditure, in 2008.
"It is not possible to accurately predict how many of these cases will be put into payment as many of the claimants leave the country before their claims can be processed," Mr Cullen said.
"The ongoing levels of immigration and the number of workers returning to their countries will impact on the levels of benefit to be paid."
About 43,700 EU nationals currently receive child benefit for 75,400 children who live with them in Ireland. Of these, 17,300 are UK nationals, 10,100 are from Poland, with a further 11,300 recipients from the other states that joined the EU in 2004. Before the child benefit is given to non-resident children the department must contact the authorities in the country of residence to establish what, if any, family benefits are payable there.
Mr Cullen said this process can take several months to complete and, as a result, the number of claims that have been finalised to date is "relatively small."
Officials also estimate that the total cost of the early childcare supplement to EU migrants whose children live abroad will be €23 million in 2008.
The entitlement of EU migrant workers to the €1,000 supplement for non-resident children caused a political controversy earlier this year, when Fine Gael declared before the general election in May that it would change the supplement to exclude payment to children of EU migrant workers living abroad.
The supplement was introduced by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in his budget in December 2005 with the aim of help families towards rising childcare costs.
The Attorney General has advised the Cabinet that any attempt to discriminate between Irish and EU workers in the payment of child subsidies could be illegal.
