Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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296. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons aged 19 to 22 years in respect of whom the back to school clothing and footwear allowance is currently paid. [44660/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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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 children start school each autumn. The Government has provided €48.8m for the scheme in 2013.

To date in 2013, some 14,000 persons over the age of 18 years qualified for BSCFA. Budget 2014 provides for the discontinuance of the allowance for young people over the age of 18 with the exception of those attending second level education. Young people attending third level education who currently qualify for the allowance would generally be eligible for third level student grants.