Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 454: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cost of creating a new back to school allowance (details supplied) payable to families on social welfare payments and households in receipt of family income supplement at a rate €300 for primary school children and €475 for children over 12 years of age. [38694/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a one-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn. The allowance is intended as a contribution towards meeting the full cost of school clothing and footwear.

Budget 2006 provided for a number of improvements to the scheme. These include –

an increase of €40 in BSCFA rates from June 2006

Extension of entitlement to the back to school clothing and footwear allowance to recipients of guardian's (formerly orphan's) payments for the first time, and

An increase in the additional income disregard for entitlement to the scheme from €50 to €100 over the relevant social welfare rate.

From June 2006, an allowance of €120 is payable in respect of qualified children aged from 2 to 11 years, or €190 in respect of qualified children aged from 12 to 22 years. The Department of Education and Science operates a grant scheme towards the cost of providing school textbooks for pupils from low-income families at primary and post-primary level. In addition, schools participating in the School Support programme (SSP) under Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) the new action plan for educational inclusion, and which operate a book loan/rental scheme for 2006/2007, have been allocated increased grant aid from a supplementary fund which has been made available for this purpose. Schools are notified of the scheme each year by circular letter.

In 2006, some 172,000 children will benefit from the back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme at an annual cost of €25.6 million. On the basis of the number of recipients of the allowance in 2006, the cost of creating a new allowance at a rate of €300 for primary school children and €475 for children over 12 years of age as suggested by the Deputy would be €64 million per annum. This would be an additional €38.4 million over the current annual expenditure on the scheme. Further improvements to the scheme are being considered in the context of the Budget, and in the light of resources available to me for improvements in social welfare payments generally, and ongoing progress on developing a second-tier style support targeted child poverty.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 455: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo is not receiving the fuel allowance, Christmas bonus or child dependant allowance for their daughter in college. [38944/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Social Welfare Regulations provide that the Christmas Bonus and the Free Fuel Allowance are payable only to persons in receipt of pensions and long-term Social Welfare payments. The person concerned is in receipt of illness benefit which is a short-term Social Welfare payment and therefore he does not qualify for either payment of the Christmas Bonus or the Free Fuel Allowance.

An application form for payment of a qualified child allowance in respect of a child over 18 years has been posted to the customer. His claim will be reviewed on receipt of the completed form.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 457: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be approved and awarded the back to school footwear and clothing allowance on their revised application; and the reason this Deputy cannot get an answer from the Health Service Executive in this regard. [39067/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Service Executive has advised that an application was made by the person concerned in August 2006 but it was disallowed. Her household income as assessed was substantially above the prescribed limit for entitlement to the allowance. I understand that the Health Service Executive have been in direct contact with the Deputy on this case.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 458: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, in circumstances of extreme illness, he will allow people to receive the fuel allowance even if they do not qualify due to the application of the means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39108/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from end-September to mid-April. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating expenses.

A number of improvements have been made to the scheme in recent years including the easing of the means test and extending the duration of payment from 26 weeks to 29 weeks. Most recently, Budget 2006 provided for an increase in the rate of fuel allowance of €5.00 from €9.00 to €14.00 (€17.90 in designated smokeless areas).

It is estimated that some 274,000 people (151,000 with basic fuel allowance and 123,000 with smokeless fuel supplement) will benefit in 2006 at an estimated annual cost €125.1m. In addition to the fuel allowance, some 340,000 pensioner and other households qualify for electricity or gas allowances through the household benefits package, payable towards their heating, light and cooking costs throughout the year, at an overall cost of €119 million in 2006.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare Service of the Health Service Executive a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs. If a recipient of a social welfare or Health Services Executive payment has exceptional heating costs due to ill health, infirmity or a medical condition which he/she is unable to meet out of household income, it is open to him/her to apply to the local community welfare officer for a special heating supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. This supplement is considered the most appropriate and effective way to provide extra resources in circumstances where a person has increased heating requirements due to illness.