Simon Harris has spoken out about the potential child benefit changes

There have been calls to introduce a €285 child benefit payment as thousands of families struggle to keep afloat amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Fine Gael leader Simon Harris spoke out about the suggestion and said he is a “signed-up believer” in introducing a second tier of child benefit.

However, Harris stressed that introducing something like this would be a multi-annual project.

"I've listened to the likes of the Children's Rights Alliance and I'm a believer that this is a good way of lifting children out of poverty."

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe also said there is a very significant cost attached to introducing a second-tier child benefit payment.

According to The Journal, Donohoe stated:

"The programme for government does commit to us examining it and looking at the effect that it could have, but I do need to emphasise that we have made no decisions in relation to it or any other measure in the budget process."

Their comments come after a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute found that increasing child benefit payments would help lift 55,000 children out of poverty.

According to the new report, increasing payments by an average of €285 a month would help tackle child poverty.

The team at the ESRI suggested increasing the current €140 payment to €285 for lower-income families.

They believe this could help tackle the child poverty crisis in Ireland. 15% of children are currently living below the poverty line in Ireland.

A second-tier child benefit payment could help so many families living below the poverty line.