Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 November 2004
70 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has proposals to increase resources available under the back to school clothing and footwear allowance; the number of recipients of the allowance in 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28200/04]
View answerThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme assists certain families facing extra costs when children start school each autumn. The scheme operates from the beginning of June to the end of September each year and is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards. A person may qualify for payment of a back to school clothing and footwear allowance if he or she is in receipt of a social welfare or health board payment, is participating in an approved employment scheme or attending a recognised education or training course and has household income at or below certain specified levels.
Under the scheme, an allowance of €80 is payable in respect of qualified children aged from two to 11 years. An allowance of €150 is payable in respect of qualified children aged from 12 to 22 years. A couple with one child whose weekly income is at or below €348.10 may qualify for the allowance. A lone parent with one child could have income of up to €238.90 per week and qualify for a payment. For couples, the income limit is increased by €19.30 for each additional child and for lone parents it is increased by €21.60 for each additional child. This year so far, a total of 75,640 families have received the back to school clothing and footwear allowance. This has benefited 158,000 children.
According to the consumer price index, the cost of clothing and footwear has fallen by 2.6% in the year to June 2004 although the overall consumer price index rose by 2.3% during the same period. In the 15-year period from 1990 to 2004, the cost of clothing and footwear has fallen by 29.5% overall. In the same period, the payment rates under the scheme have increased by 195% in the case of children aged 12 years or more and by 152% in the case of those aged under 12 years. On this basis, there has been a very significant real increase in the value of the assistance available through the scheme in recent years.
As part of the expenditure review programme in my Department, a working group was established to undertake a fundamental examination of all aspects of the scheme, including rates of payment, income limits, the means test, the timing of payments, eligibility criteria and other issues. A report is being finalised and when it is completed I will consider any structural or administrative changes recommended. Any increase in the scheme payment rates would be a matter for consideration in the context of the budget in light of other priorities.
Does the Minister not agree that the level of payment is still totally inadequate? On average, it costs €367 to fit out a third year student in secondary school and €272 to fit out a third class pupil in primary school. The costs depend on the age of the children and schools' individual requirements. Many schools have particular specifications pertaining to uniforms, including blazers and overcoats. In this context, does the Minister not agree that the allowances of €80 in respect of qualifying children aged between two and 11 and €150 in respect of children from 12 to 17, who are generally in secondary school, are inadequate? Will he consider revising upwards the income limits for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance to reflect the current income limits that obtain in respect of the family income supplement? For example, the income limit of a family with two children should be increased to €433 from the current limit of €367.40. Will the Minister consider increasing the rates of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance to €180 for primary school children and €250 for secondary school children? This would cost approximately €25 million but would ease a great headache for many working class people and others on the margins for whom the months of August and September are difficult.
The allowance was first granted in the early 1990s. It was never intended to meet the full cost of school clothing and footwear but was intended to assist in meeting it. As I stated, while the real value of the allowance has increased somewhat over the years, I am acutely aware that people face many extra costs when sending their children back to school each year. I will certainly consider what the Deputy is saying.
Some 75,000 applications were approved under the scheme and approximately 172,000 children benefited. The allocation for 2004 is €19.48 million and the rates will be considered in the context of the budget.
When does the Minister expect the report to be available and when was it commissioned? Will he consider extending the closing date for the scheme because many people who do not know about it will miss the closing date.
I am not aware of any significant problem but if the Deputy is aware of a problem, I will ask the Department to examine the closing date. The expenditure review is under way but it will be a few weeks before it is available.
Is this another example of where people do not take advantage of the opportunities available to them? Surely it should be easy for the Department to identify the people who are entitled to the back to school allowance. Are there proposals to investigate the matter?
The scheme is administered by the health boards on behalf of the Department, parallel with the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. I do not have statistics on the take-up of the scheme but I will try to get them for the Deputy. The budget allocation this year was €19.4 million, but the amount was a little less in terms of actual payments. This may indicate a difficulty with take-up, which I will examine.
