Willie O'Dea
Question:38. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to increase the back to school clothing and footwear allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25709/17]
View answerWednesday, 31 May 2017
Questions (38, 68)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:68. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to assist families with increasing back to school costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25933/17]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 68 together.
The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The allowance is not intended to meet the full cost of school clothing and footwear but to provide assistance to parents towards these costs.
The Government has provided €37.4 million for the scheme in 2017 which will operate from June to September. The allowance will be paid week commencing 10 July to allow parents sufficient time to prepare for back to school. Similar to arrangements in previous years, the majority of payments under this scheme will be paid with no application form required. Customers who do not receive notification of an automated payment over the next few weeks should make a written application to my Department.
The income limits for the scheme are being increased for 2017 and will ensure that the increases in social welfare payment rates introduced by Budget 2017 do not negatively impact on people’s entitlement to the allowance.
The payment rates are €100 for eligible children aged 4 to 11 years and €200 for children aged over 12 years and attending secondary school. Any changes to these rates would have to be considered in a budgetary context and within the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements.
Members of the house may be aware that my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, has recently published a new circular on the measures to be adopted by schools to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs, as part of a range of measures to take greater account of the needs of parents and students in the school system.
I trust this clarifies the arrangements in place.