Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to any over-payments as a result of the automated service of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance. [19854/11]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 263: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that the automated service of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance is only making payments to those who are entitled to them. [19855/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 262 and 263 together.

The administrative arrangements for the 2011 back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme are different from those that applied in previous years. For this year, the majority of back to school clothing and footwear allowance entitlements were fully automated with no application form required from customers. It is expected that in excess of 80% of customers entitled to the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in 2011 will automatically receive the allowance.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance is paid in respect of eligible children between the ages of:

· 2 and 17 years of age, and

· between the ages of 18 and 22, if in full time education.

In order to qualify for an automated payment the parent of the child must have been in receipt of a qualifying payment that included an increase in respect of a qualified child at the commencement of the scheme and the Department were satisfied that the household satisfied the means test for the scheme. The scheme commenced from the 1st June 2011 with the entitlement created based on the preceding weeks entitlement. If the Department establishes that any person received a payment to which they were not entitled, the Department will seek to recover that amount in full.