Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 September 2017
227. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the back to school clothing and footwear allowance by €50 for each category for 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40037/17]
View answerThe 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 rates of the payment for the 2017 scheme were increased from €100 to €125 for children aged 4 to 11 and from €200 to €250 for children aged 12 years and over. This brings the total allocation for the allowance this year to €47.4 million, an increase of €10 million on what was originally proposed for 2017.
The annual cost to increase the payments by €50, from the recently announced 2017 rates to €175 and €300, would be €14.1 million over and above the €47.4 million now allocated to the scheme for 2017.
Any further changes to the rates of the allowance would have to be considered within a budgetary context and the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
