Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of children that benefited from the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in 2007; if he will extend the duration within which people can apply for this allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20773/07]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for payments under the back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme in 2007; the way this compares with 2006; if has satisfied himself with the level of take up under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20713/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 613: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount of back to school allowance paid out by his Department; the amount not claimed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21068/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 152, 155 and 613 together.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme 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.

As the BSCFA scheme will be running to the end of September, final figures in relation to the numbers of applications received and awarded for 2007 are not yet available from the HSE. Current indications are that more than 82,000 families with 174,000 children will benefit from the scheme this year at a cost of some €38m. This is an increase on the 2006 figures when 78,750 families with 161,450 children benefited at a cost of €23.5m. This increase 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 information services operated by my Department. The Department has increased its publicity in this area to ensure that as many families as possible are aware of the scheme.

Applications for the allowance may be made between the beginning of June and the end of September each 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. 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.

The HSE may under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme make exceptional needs payments in the case of late BSCFA applications. Accordingly, I have no plans to extend the period of application beyond September.