Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Kenny. JobPath is shambolic. It is destroying our people and it needs to be put to an end as soon as possible.

I am very disappointed that the Social Welfare Bill makes no attempt to address the spiralling cost of sending children back to school. It is an issue which has been raised in the House for many years. A 2013 report on tackling back to school costs is still sitting on a shelf. We need action on this issue. Every year it affects thousands of households across the State, in particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It makes a mockery of our so-called free education system. The Bill provides no assistance to those families. It does not increase the back to school clothing and footwear allowance that was slashed under previous Governments. It does not increase funding for the school book grant scheme, despite evidence that one third of secondary schools in the State do not provide a school book rental scheme. I welcome the €3 million increase in the school meals programme. However, this is insufficient to increase the service to the level that is required.

I welcome the recent announcement that jobseekers under 26 years of age will receive the full rate of the back to education allowance, but this is long overdue. I am glad the Government has finally seen sense and has taken action on this issue.

The Government had options.

In its alternative budget Sinn Féin set out an increase of €50 per child in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, an increase of 30% in the school meals programme and an increase of 40% in school book grant funding, but the Government did precious little to assist children from disadvantaged backgrounds to access their constitutional right to an education. My party cannot stand over this.

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