The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides assistance towards the cost of school clothing and footwear for children attending mainly primary and post-primary schools. Under the scheme, an allowance of €80 is payable in respect of qualified children aged two to 11 years while €120 is payable in respect of qualified children aged 12 to 22 years. The income limits for the scheme are adjusted on an annual basis. Details of the income limits for 2004 are set out in the tabular statement below, together with the number of applications received, awarded and refused for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003. In 2004, 73,268 applications have been received in the period to 30 September. However, details of the number of applications awarded and the number refused in 2004 are not yet available.
A person may qualify for payment of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance if he or she is in receipt of a qualifying social welfare or health board payment or is participating in an approved employment scheme, such as the back to work scheme or a recognised education or training course, and has household income at or below the prescribed levels. Where the prescribed income limits are exceeded in the case of persons participating in approved employment schemes, including the back to work scheme, special arrangements are in place which allow such people to retain entitlement to back to school clothing and footwear allowance subject to a separate income limit of €317.43 per week. Back to work allowance and family income supplement, in cases where one or both of these are in payment, are disregarded in the assessment of the €317.43 weekly income limit.
In effect, this means that people who had been unemployed and who commenced employment through the back to work scheme can have a weekly household income significantly in excess of €317.43 and still qualify for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance. In the first year of his or her participation in the back to work scheme, a single person can have combined income from the back to work allowance and wages of €418.50 while a couple with two children can have an income of €510.75. A participant on a back to work scheme may be assessed under either the retention rules applicable to employment scheme participants or the income limits of the back to school clothing and footwear scheme itself, whichever is more beneficial.