Seanad debates
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages
5:00 pm
Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)
I move amendment No. 6:
In page 13, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following subsection:
"(2) The Minister shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the number of eligible persons and proportion thereof availing of the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.".
This concerns the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. I referred to it in my contribution on lone parents but it also affects low income families. In one situation there were two children at either end of the spectrum. One was an 18 year old doing his leaving certificate and the other was a youngster making her first holy communion. Both were costly to their parents in respect of buying shoes, clothes or books now that the book grant is gone. I seek more flexibility and a degree of human interest. There should be more support to encourage people to remain at work. This should always be the ethos and it should not be the case that they do not qualify because of one euro.
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