asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total cost of the free footwear scheme in the past year to the latest available date; the total number of people who benefited from the scheme; and the amount of footwear provided.
Written Answers. - Free Footwear Scheme.
367.
Expenditure on children's footwear under the footwear scheme in the year ended 31st December, 1976 was approximately £203,000. Half of this amount was paid by my Department and the other half, together with administration costs, was paid by local authorities. The available statistics do not show the number of people who benefited from the scheme but some 42,000 pairs of footwear were supplied in the 1975-76 season which ran from November, 1975 to March, 1976.