‘Flawed’ HMRC system stops hundreds of NI families’ child benefit

Hundreds of families have had their child benefit payments stopped because they returned to Northern Ireland via Dublin airport.

It follows the introduction of a new government anti-fraud system designed to track those who leave the country but do not come back after eight weeks, raising a red flag at HMRC for possible emigration.

Sinn Féin MP Dáire Hughes, who is representing 14 of the families affected, called the system “flawed”.

As first reported in The Detail, HMRC have apologised for the mistake and said they were “working at pace” to reinstate claims so families are “not left out of pocket”.

The government crackdown on alleged benefit fraud compares HMRC records with Home Office international travel data.

That means families returning to Northern Ireland through Dublin Airport were mistakenly flagged as having gone abroad and were therefore fraudulently claiming benefits.

In one instance a person flew out from Belfast and back through Dublin, while in another a family had travelled to England and back again via Dublin because it was cheaper.

UK and Irish citizens can travel freely into each other’s countries under the Common Travel Area arrangement (CTA).

There are no routine passport checks when travelling through the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, meaning the UK government has no data to show that someone may have returned to Northern Ireland.

HMRC said it would be introducing an “upfront check” to identify Northern Ireland customers whose exit from the UK was to the Republic of Ireland and will not suspend their payments without first clarifying their residency.

Hughes, who is the MP for Newry and Armagh, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme that the policy was being “created in a context of being completely oblivious to the realities of life on this island”.

He said that people from Northern Ireland use Dublin Airport for a variety of reasons and it is “just as handy” to them as either airport in Belfast.

“It is quite patently a ridiculous set up, where months and months, in some cases years after returning to the north, a letter arrives at peoples doors informing them that their child benefits have been suspended and in order to get them reinstated there are extensive hoops to jump through,” he added.

“It’s simply appalling.”

He said he has received a “number of confirmations that payments have been reinstated” to some of the families he represents.

Hughes welcomed the news and added that HMRC had to ensure it did not happen again.

HMRC said it had involved a “small number of customers in Northern Ireland”.

As of 17 October 2025, HMRC said they had had sent enquiry letters to 346 customers from Northern Ireland. This is out of 219,255 customers claiming child benefit in Northern Ireland.

HMRC also said they have reinstated payments and closed enquires to 134 people after carrying out employment checks.

There are 46 cases which are currently undergoing these checks and HMRC confirmed they will reinstate payments once they are complete.

Child benefit is paid to more 6.9 million families, supporting 11.9 million children. It is one of the most widely accessed forms of benefit in the UK.

HMRC said a successful pilot scheme focusing on those who left the UK but carried on claiming, had already prevented £17m in wrongful payments by removing them from the system.

“It’s crucial that we undertake this work to protect taxpayers’ money,” HMRC added.