Budget 2026 | Children’s allowance to increase by €250

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has announced the children’s allowance is set to increase by €250.  

The measure will apply to parents who earn up to €30,000 yearly. 

The increase aligns with a pledge made in the Labour Party’s manifesto to raise the allowance by €450 during this legislative term. 

The minister said in the past four years, every family who has been eligible to receive children’s allowance, will have seen an increase between €590 to €1,007.  

Caruana also announced a €500 increase to government’s birth bonus. Parents will get €1,000 for the first-born child, €1,500 for the second child and €2,000 for the third.  

Fostering care allowance is also set to increase from €6,240 a year, to €6,760 – increasing by €10 a week.  

The minister said in-work benefit will see an increase of €75. This he said is in line with the electoral pledge to increase the in-work benefit by €200 by the end of the legislature.