Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 14 Feb 1995

Vol. 449 No. 1

Written Answers. - Clothing and Footwear Scheme.

Máirín Quill

Ceist:

14 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will introduce the back to school clothing and footwear scheme to commence on 1 April 1995, to ensure that people have money to enable them obtain school uniforms and other items of clothing before the end of the school year. [3196/95]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The back to school clothing and footwear scheme, which is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards is designed to assist recipients of social welfare and health board payments with the cost of children's school uniforms and footwear. People on low incomes who are in receipt of family income supplement may also qualify for assistance.

For the 1995 scheme, I have increased the rates of allowance from £35 to £40, for a child attending primary school and from £50 to £55 for a post-primary pupil. It is expected that some 285,000 pupils will benefit under the scheme this year at a cost of approximately £12.9 million.

The scheme opens for applications in all health boards in June each year. This is to allow adequate time to process the 114,000 applications expected.

My Department's annual circular to health boards on the operation of the 1994 scheme, requested boards to ensure that the majority of payments were made by 31 July 1994 to enable parents to make the necessary purchases in the traditional back to school shopping month of August. The health boards have advised my Department that the scheme operated satisfactorily in all boards in 1994 with families throughout the country receiving their payments in good time to make provision for their children's needs.

The purpose of the scheme is to assist with the clothing needs of school children in the forthcoming school year. A balance needs to be struck between paying the allowance too early or too late. I believe the present arrangements are satisfactory and I have no plans to advise health boards to make earlier payments. This year's scheme circular will issue to health boards in the coming weeks to ensure the health boards can make the necessary arrangements to make the majority of payments by the end of July 1995. I would urge parents to assist the boards by making applications as early as possible once the scheme commences.