Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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520. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance by €5, €10 , €15, €20 and €25 respectively, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51220/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn.

The rates of the payment for the 2017 scheme were increased from €100 to €125 for children aged 4 to 11 and from €200 to €250 for children aged 12 years and over. Overall the 2017 scheme has supported some 150,400 families with payments in respect of 274,000 children at a cost of over €48.5m.

Using the total number of children covered by the scheme in 2017 as a basis, the additional cost to increase the BSCFA rates by the amounts listed per age group is set out in the attached tabular statement.

Any further changes to the rates of the allowance would have to be considered within a budgetary context and the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Full -Year Additional Cost to Increase BSCFA rates by amounts listed