Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the estimated take-up rate of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43264/06]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications received for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in 2006; the number of late applications received; the number of unsuccessful applications for 2006; if he will extend the timeframe for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43294/06]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number he expects to benefit from changes to the back to school clothing and footwear allowance announced in Budget 2007; the way he envisages the extra funding for school meals being used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43239/06]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on whether the increase in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance reflect the true costs of sending children to school. [43253/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 75, 84, 99 and 111 together.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme (BSCFA) operates from the beginning of June to the end of September each year and is administered on behalf of my Department by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Applications for the allowance may be made between the beginning of June and the end of September each year. While the closing date for applications for BSCFA was 30th September 2006, processing and payment of late applications remained ongoing during November. Current indications are that about 84,800 families with approximately 172,000 children will benefit from the scheme this year at a cost of €25.4m. This is an increase on the 2005 figures when some 76,166 families with 157,254 children benefited at a cost of €16.7m.

Based on information received to date the average number of successful applications in 2006 was 89.9% of all applications received. The estimated number of applications refused in 2006 is 19,323 (10.1%) out of applications made in respect of over 191,000 children. In previous years, the national average number of applications granted was 88.3% of all applications received.

The BSCFA is a demand led scheme and statistics are not available on the take-up by families who might satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance but who have not applied. The Department has increased its publicity in this area to ensure that as many families as possible are aware of the scheme and further awareness initiatives will be undertaken in 2007.

Final figures in relation to the numbers of applications received and awarded for 2006 are not yet available from the HSE. Current indications are that the number of applications received has increased nationwide. This can be mainly attributed to improvements in income disregards introduced this year, and the significant level of publicity given to this scheme in the media and through the other information services operated by my Department.

Applications for the allowance may be made between the beginning of June and the end of September each year. This period was designated as it is the time that parents are preparing and budgeting for back to school expenditure. As the principal objective of the scheme is to assist eligible families with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn, the most practical time to implement the scheme is in the lead up to each new academic year. In dealing with the large volume of applications received, the Health Service Executive deploys additional staffing resources for the duration of the scheme during the June to September period. In the case of late applications exceptional needs payments under the SWA scheme may be paid where warranted.

Extending the deadline for applications for back to school clothing and footwear allowance would have some scheme and administrative costs and there would be little or no gain to the public. I consider the existing period of application to be adequate and targeted in meeting the demand. In previous years, the national average number of applications made after the end of September was 1.5% of all applications received. Based on information received to date the number of applications received in 2006 after the end of September is approximately 2,600 or 1.4% of all applications received. These have been either processed under BSCFA or as claims for an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP). From June 2006, an allowance of €120 was 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.

As announced in Budget 2007, the rate of payment of BSCFA is being increased by €60 per child for children aged 2 to 11 years old and €95 for children aged 12 to 22 — a 50% increase on the current allowance. The new rates (applicable for 2007) are €180 for children aged 2 to 11 years old and €285 for children aged 12 to 22. The annual expenditure on the scheme will increase to €38.1m as a result of this measure (€12.71m + €25.4m). The number of children that will benefit in 2007 is expected to be similar to 2006.

These improvements in BSCFA are very significant when viewed in the context of clothing and footwear price trends. According to the Consumer Price Index for October 2006, the overall cost of clothing and footwear has fallen by 1.7% over the past twelve months. Since December 2001, clothing and footwear costs have decreased by 15.4%.

I consider the back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme to be an important support for parents at a time of particular financial strain. I am satisfied that the improvements to the scheme for this year and next year provide a major boost to meeting the financial costs associated with return to school for those who most need assistance.

The school meals programme operated by my Department gives funding towards provision of food services for disadvantaged school children through two schemes. The first is the long-standing statutory urban school meals scheme, currently operated by 36 local authorities. The second is the school meals community (local projects) programme through which funding is provided by my Department to participating schools and voluntary community groups in both urban and rural areas who are running specific school meals projects, including breakfast clubs.

The Department of Education and Science has initiated a new action plan "Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools" (DEIS) which incorporates many of that Department's existing schemes which target educational disadvantage including schools with the highest concentration of early school leavers. A total of 875 schools were identified by the Department of Education and Science as disadvantaged under the (DEIS) action plan. Over 400 of these schools are already receiving school meal funding. The remaining schools have been contacted by my Department and invited to apply for funding. The additional €3m funding announced in the recent budget will allow for the current number of participating schools to be increased by over 200 additional disadvantaged DEIS schools which will benefit an estimated 20,000 extra children in 2007.

The school meals programme makes an important contribution to ensuring that school children receive better nutrition and contributes to improved school attendance and quality of learning. All relevant research indicates that there is a strong link between nutritional intake and cognitive ability and that inadequate nutrition impacts negatively on a child's ability to learn and benefit from education. The scheme also supports initiatives that target dispersed disadvantage and children with special needs.