Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 rates for the Back to School Clothing an Footwear Allowance were increased by €10 in 2022 to €160 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.

Back to School Clothing an Footwear allowance payments totaling €86.0m issued to 154,014 families in respect of 273,114 qualified children in 2023, which included an additional one-off €100 increase per child in response to the cost of living pressures been faced by households.

The rates of payment for the 2023 scheme are €160 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.

Assuming the same numbers qualify for the payment in 2024, the estimated full year cost of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is estimated to be €67.5m in a full year, if the allowance increased by 15%.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.