Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 431: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on back to school payments for national and second level school children; the payments and income limits which apply; his further views on introducing a partial or reduced payment for families above the current income limit who also have to pay bills and who often feel discriminated against compared with those qualifying for back to school payments. [17782/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a one-off payment to eligible families when their children start school each autumn. The allowance is not intended to meet the full cost of school clothing and footwear but to provide assistance towards these costs. A person may qualify for payment of an allowance if they are in receipt of a social welfare payment ( such as Jobseekers Allowance or family income supplement ) , of a Health Service Executive payment, are participating in an approved employment scheme or attending a recognised education and training course and have household income at or below certain set levels. Separately, the Department of Education and Science operate a book grant scheme for primary and secondary schools.

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. In each case, this is a 50% increase. The new rates (applicable for 2007) are €180 for children aged 2 to 11 years old and €285 for children aged 12 to 22. This increase will provide a considerable boost to families at a time of considerable expense in the year. The annual expenditure on the scheme will increase to €38.1m as a result of this measure. The number of children that will benefit in 2007 is expected to be slightly higher that those benefiting in 2006 as the income limit is increased for 2007.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme to be an important support for parents and 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 adequacy of back to school clothing and footwear allowance payments will be kept under review. Any further changes to the scheme such as a reduced rate for the people whose income is above the relevant limit, would have to be considered in the context of future Budgets and in the light of the resources available to me for improvements in social welfare generally.