A total of €20 million in family benefits will be sent out to around 62,000 families next week, three weeks ahead of the original schedule, the Children's Rights Ministry announced on Friday.

The payment, initially set for 5 October, will now be issued on 14 September to provide financial support to families before the new scholastic year begins.

Permanent Secretary Mark Musù explained that the decision to release the funds earlier aims to assist families with school-related expenses. The payment will cover the period of October to December 2024.

Musù said the funds will be split between two groups.

The first group, consisting of around 42,000 families, will receive €15.7 million.

This amount is earmarked for families with children under the age of 16 and will cover children's allowances, children's supplements, disability benefits and foster care allowances. 

In total, these families have been allocated €63 million for 2024.

A second group of about 20,000 families will receive €4 million next week. These families have children or dependents over the age of 16 who do not qualify for children's allowances.

The €4 million is part of the supplementary allowance, which supports low-income families. In total, €16.5 million was allocated to this group in 2024.

Over the last year, the government has spent around €80 million on allowances for these 62,000 families, he said, €13 million more than in the previous year.

This figure excludes the cost of other benefits, such as the cost of living adjustment (COLA), work benefit, childcare bonus, and the carers' grant.

Permanent Secretary, Mark Musù Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

During the same press conference, Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon said the investment in the wellbeing of children is of "paramount importance".

“The term social expenditure does not exist... what exists is the term social investment," he said.

“I doubt that there is a bigger investment than that of investing in children, which is something we can all agree on.”

Falzon further noted that this allocation aligns with the government’s manifesto promise to increase the Children’s Allowance by €450 during the current legislature. He highlighted that by 2023, the increase had reached €90 per child. He said an additional €250 per child was given in 2024, bringing the total increase to €340.