Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has described the early payment of an increased Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance as a sign of the Government’s commitment to relieve some of the pressure on families caused by increases in the cost of living.
The allowances were paid to 124,000 families in respect of 220,000 children on Monday, July 11 with an extra €100 payment for back to school costs to be transferred into bank accounts from Monday, July 18.
“This is a practical example of the Government’s willingness to deal with the concerns of people worried about making ends meet in these challenging times. The fact that the allowances are being made available at this time means they have both the time and opportunity to prepare for the return to school next September,” Deputy Carey explained.
“It was originally decided to increase the allowance by €10 in Budget 2022, with additional changes to make more one-parent families eligible. However the allowance is now to be raised by €100 per child as part of the back-to-school package announced last week.
“This means that for the current year, the total amount being paid for each qualified child between 4 and 11 years will be €260 and the rate payable for each eligible child aged 12 and over will be €385.
“Ukrainian families who have moved to Ireland due to the war in their home country will also benefit under the scheme.
“The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance provides a once-off payment to eligible families towards the cost of school clothing and footwear. The scheme supported over 137,000 families with Back to School costs last year.
“€84 million has been secured for the scheme this year, which is an increase of €26 million on last year’s allocation, and an estimated 151,000 families and 262,000 children will benefit by the time applications close at the end of September,” Deputy Carey added.
Further information on the eligibility criteria for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is available at www.gov.ie/bscfa