Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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420. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection what financial assistance can be provided to parents with children attending pre-school, who must purchase uniforms for said school, but are not eligible for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10048/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, 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 scheme operates from June to September each year.

The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid, and eligible children between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid.

To qualify for the allowance a person must meet a number of conditions, namely:

- The child must meet the age criteria,

- The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September,

- The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits,

- The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.

Applications which fall outside the normal rules of the scheme may be considered for an Additional Needs Payment. Additional Needs Payments are administered by the Community Welfare Service of my Department and are available to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. The schemes are demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme considering the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local Community Welfare Service. There is a National Community Welfare Service Contact Centre in place – 0818-607080 – which will direct callers to the appropriate office.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.