Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if farmers with very small farms, who currently do not pay any taxes, are obliged to provide professional farm accounts or statements from revenue in relation to their income when applying for the back to school allowance; the evidence of income needed in such cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25762/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme operates from the beginning of June until the end of September each year.

The administrative arrangements for the 2011 BSCFA scheme differ from those that applied in previous years. For this year, the majority of BSCFA entitlements were fully automated with no application form required from customers, 127,000 households in respect of over 250,000 children received their payment automatically in June.

Those customers who did not receive an automated payment are required to complete and return an application form to the Department. The timescale for determining applications for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance claims is dependent on a number of factors including: the number of applications received, when the application is lodged, the availability of the required information such as details of the applicant's income, bank statements and other relevant information regarding an individual's application. In addition, some aspects of the applications are inevitably time consuming and delays can occur where further investigations or third party evidence is required. Delays can also arise if the applicant is slow to respond to requests for additional information.

To qualify for BSCFA a person must meet a number of conditions namely:

· Be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child

· Have total household income below a specific level for the family composition

. The child/student must be aged between 2 and 22 on or before 30 September of the year of application (and for children aged 18 – 22 they must be in full-time education at a recognised school or college).

A BSCFA payment is only awarded in cases where the scheme criteria are satisfied including an assessment of means. Depending on the circumstances of the claim, the deciding officer may request any additional information from claimants, including farm accounts or statements from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in relation to income if these are required in order to make an assessment of entitlements.E