asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he is aware that in Counties Carlow and Wexford many deserving children were not supplied with footwear under the free footwear scheme; and if he will take steps to ensure that a sufficient quantity of footwear will be made available in these two counties, to enable the benefits of the scheme to be available for all deserving cases.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Free Footwear Scheme.
Mr. Corish
The number of footwear vouchers allocated between the various public assistance districts is limited to the number of pairs of official footwear available for distribution. In both Counties Carlow and Wexford, the quantity of footwear allocated was only slightly less than that estimated by the public assistance authority to be required to meet possible demands in full. Production during the 1946-47 season was approximately 5,000 pairs less than was anticipated and this deficiency affected to some extent the quantity allocated to each public assistance district. It is hoped that in the forthcoming production season the maximum number of pairs of footwear required will be produced.