Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 November 2020
589. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment is treated as a qualifying payment for back to school clothing and footwear allowance but the payment for the wage subsidy scheme is not, as was the case for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36927/20]
View answerThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) 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 scheme operates from June to September each year.
The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid and eligible children between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid.
To qualify for BSCFA a person must meet a number of conditions; namely:
- The child must meet the age criteria.
- The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September.
- The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits.
- The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.
This year, the eligibility criteria for the BSCFA scheme were extended to include the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment as a qualifying payment for the allowance. Recipients of this payment were also required to satisfy all other qualifying criteria in order to qualify for the allowance.
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme are not unemployment payment schemes operated by my Department. These are schemes for which responsibility lies with the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners and are or were available to employers to keep staff on their payroll during the pandemic.
An application was received from the spouse of the person in question and was disallowed as the conditions outlined above were not satisfied. While applications which are outside the terms of the BSCFA scheme will not qualify for payment under that scheme, I should mention that individuals who are refused a BSCFA payment may be considered for exceptional needs payments (ENP) under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme by the officers administering this scheme in the normal way.
Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to an exceptional needs payment should contact the Department’s Community Welfare Service.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
