Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I do not propose to accept the amendment. This is a valuable scheme which supports many people and the amount of money provided in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance covers what it is intended to cover, namely, a uniform and shoes. I would not pretend that it also covers school books and I appreciate the pressure on people in this regard. This year, €49 million is being spent on it and 200,000 children are benefiting. When I looked at what we would do next year, the choice was to increase the amount of money available to people or increase the number of people who might benefit from it. In line with Senator McFadden's thinking, I was more anxious that more people should benefit. For that reason, instead of increasing the amount I increased the number of people and approximately 18,000 more families will benefit next year.