Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the way the back to school clothing and footwear allowance increase will make a significant difference to many low income families, in view of the fact that the qualifying criteria for this payment remain so onerous; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35802/07]

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 to assist with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn. The allowance is not intended to meet the full cost of school clothing and footwear but only to provide assistance towards these costs.

A person may qualify for payment of an allowance if they are in receipt of a social welfare or Health Service Executive (HSE) payment, or are participating in an approved employment scheme or attending a recognised education and training course and have household income at below standard levels.

Family Income Supplement (FIS), which is a weekly tax-free payment for families at work and on low pay, is also one of the qualifying payments for the purposes of the BSCFA scheme. This enables families, not normally in receipt of a social welfare or HSE payment to avail of the BSCFA scheme. Self-employed people on low incomes may qualify for Jobseekers Allowance (JA), depending on the income from their business. As JA is a qualifying payment for BSCFA a self-employed person may then qualify for payment of BSCFA subject to meeting the other qualifying criteria of the scheme. A means test is applied to ensure that limited resources are directed to those in greatest need. Income Limits for 2008 will be €496.10 for a couple with one child and €347.30 for a lone parent with one child. The limit is increased by €24.00 for each additional child. The fact that the income limit is aligned to weekly social welfare payment rates means that it is automatically indexed upward each year with budget increases.

In Budget 2007, the rate of payment of BSCFA was 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 previous allowance. The rates for 2007 are €180 for children aged 2 to 11 years old and €285 for children aged 12 to 22. Budget 2008 has increased BSCFA rates by €20 to €200 and €305, a further increase of 11% and 7%, respectively. Expenditure on the scheme will increase by €3.5m to around €43.5m in 2008. 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 2007, the overall cost of clothing and footwear has fallen by 3.5% over the past twelve months. Since December 2001, clothing and footwear costs have decreased by 18.4%.

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. Any changes to the structure of the scheme, rates of payment, income limits or amendments to the qualifying criteria would have cost implications and would have to be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of resources available to me for improvements in social welfare payments generally.