Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1127. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children that applied for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and the breakdown of these applications that were approved or rejected. [39840/21]
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 Government has provided €53.5m for the scheme in 2021 which operates from June to September.
The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child increase is being paid. It is also payable to those 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.
The majority of customers are awarded BSCFA automatically and these customers are notified of their award. This year, these customers were notified of their award by the 21 June. Customers who have not received notification of an automated award need to apply for the BSCFA before the closing date, 30 September 2021.
The number of customers that applied for the BSCFA in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, and the breakdown of the applications awarded and refused is set out in tabular form below.
|
Year |
Total Awards (customers) |
Total Awards (children) |
Auto Awards (customers) |
Auto Awards (children) |
Manual Applications Received |
Manual Awards (customers) |
Manual Awards (children) |
Refusals |
|
2016 |
152,108 |
283,000 |
108,805 |
193,327 |
51,941 |
43,303 |
89,673 |
8,638 |
|
2017 |
150,867 |
275,416 |
113,801 |
204,957 |
47,759 |
37,592 |
70,459 |
10,167 |
|
2018 |
144,040 |
266,462 |
104,461 |
190,308 |
50,815 |
39,579 |
76,154 |
11,236 |
|
2019 |
143,146 |
263,405 |
116,614 |
212,078 |
39,496 |
26,532 |
51,327 |
12,964 |
|
2020 |
143,324 |
264,453 |
115,552 |
212,045 |
44,330 |
27,772 |
52,408 |
16,558 |
|
2021 (up to 22/07/2021) |
116,036 |
213,481 |
111,125 |
203,747 |
23,982 |
4,911 |
9,734 |
3,253 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
