Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
435. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31129/23]
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 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 the allowance 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.
For the 2020 scheme, the eligibility criteria for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme was extended to include the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment as a qualifying payment for the allowance. Recipients of this payment also needed to satisfy all the other qualifying conditions in order to qualify.
In Budget 2022, the income limits for one parent families were increased to bring them in line with the income limits for two parent families, widening the eligibility for that cohort of customers. Also in Budget 2022, the rates of payment for the scheme were increased by €10 to €160 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.
In July 2022, as a once-off measure to assist families with back to school costs in 2022, the rates of payments were increased by €100 for each eligible child under the scheme.
In February 2023, as part of the cost of living measures announced, the €100 increase for each child was maintained for the 2023 scheme year.
Each year, the income limits have increased to ensure the increases in weekly social protection payments rates introduced in each budget does not negatively impact on an individual’s entitlement to the allowance.
The 2023 Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme opened to new applications on 8 June and will remain open until the end of September. Customers can apply for the allowance online on www.mywelfare.ie.
The number of recipients, by county, who received the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023 is set out in tabular form below.
|
- |
Total Number of Recipients (families) Awarded |
|||
|
County |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 (as at 26 June) |
|
Carlow |
2,590 |
2,403 |
2,611 |
2,166 |
|
Cavan |
2,623 |
2,442 |
2,730 |
2,180 |
|
Clare |
3,172 |
3,008 |
3,679 |
3,094 |
|
Cork |
13,615 |
12,953 |
14,700 |
12,147 |
|
Donegal |
6,480 |
6,126 |
7,033 |
5,929 |
|
Dublin |
36,560 |
35,352 |
39,128 |
32,830 |
|
Galway |
6,598 |
6,272 |
7,189 |
5,799 |
|
Kerry |
4,322 |
4,136 |
5,130 |
4,461 |
|
Kildare |
6,134 |
5,863 |
6,292 |
5,096 |
|
Kilkenny |
2,446 |
2,266 |
2,538 |
2,061 |
|
Laois |
2,858 |
2,678 |
2,849 |
2,310 |
|
Leitrim |
1,080 |
1,021 |
1,202 |
1,035 |
|
Limerick |
6,476 |
6,321 |
6,889 |
5,643 |
|
Longford |
1,964 |
1,904 |
2,073 |
1,664 |
|
Louth |
5,465 |
5,475 |
6,047 |
5,073 |
|
Mayo |
4,033 |
3,780 |
4,312 |
3,777 |
|
Meath |
5,269 |
4,951 |
5,592 |
4,543 |
|
Monaghan |
2,074 |
1,986 |
2,159 |
1,736 |
|
Offaly |
2,799 |
2,572 |
2,817 |
2,297 |
|
Roscommon |
1,836 |
1,745 |
1,942 |
1,649 |
|
Sligo |
1,901 |
1,818 |
2,108 |
1,852 |
|
Tipperary |
5,405 |
5,223 |
5,674 |
4,642 |
|
Waterford |
4,468 |
4,289 |
4,826 |
4,019 |
|
Westmeath |
3,182 |
3,047 |
3,391 |
2,766 |
|
Wexford |
6,022 |
5,757 |
6,209 |
5,191 |
|
Wicklow |
3,952 |
3,780 |
4,297 |
3,576 |
|
Total |
143,324 |
137,168 |
153,417 |
127,537 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
