….Increased Payments this year and over 239,000 children already set to benefit
Monday, 26 August, 2019
The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, T.D., today confirmed that over 130,000 families have received the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment in respect of 239,230 children since July when this year’s scheme commenced. The Minister also urged families with school-going children, who have not yet applied, to check out their entitlement to this scheme as they may qualify for a payment, depending on their financial circumstances.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is a nationwide Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection scheme that provides a once-off payment to eligible families towards the cost of school clothing and footwear. As provided for in Budget 2019, the payment has been increased by €25 this year for each qualifying child.
Minister Doherty said:
“This can be a particularly stressful time of year for many families. The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance provides valuable support to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when children start school each autumn and this year we are providing for an additional €25 payment per child. I would urge anybody who has not yet applied to check their eligibility for the scheme which provides a once-off payment to assist with the costs of school clothing and footwear.”
An allowance of €150 is paid for each eligible child who is aged 4 – 11 on or before 30 September 2019 while an allowance of €275 is paid for each eligible child aged 12 – 22 on or before 30 September 2019.
Children aged between 18 and 22 years must be returning to full-time second-level education in a recognised school or college in the autumn of 2019.
Families who have not received notification from the Department of an automated payment will need to make an application. Application forms are available at all Intreo Centres, on the Department’s website www.welfare.ie , via SMS (text Form BTSCFA followed by customer’s name and address to 51909) or by sending an email to BSCFA@welfare.ie . This year, people can also apply online via the Department’s website.
The closing date for receipt of applications for this year’s Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is 30 September 2019.
The Department is also providing a dedicated phone bank to answer enquiries during business hours 9.00am to 5.00pm. Anyone wishing to make enquiries about this scheme can contact (071) 9193318 or LoCall 1890 66 22 44.
ENDS
Note for Editors
To qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, a person must be receiving a specified social welfare payment or taking part in a training, employment or adult education scheme and the total household income must be less than the amounts set out in the table below. All dependent children are taken into account for the income limits (including children who do not qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, because they are under the age of 4).
The total household income includes a person’s main social welfare or Health Service Executive payment and any other income they may have including wages (before tax, but excluding employee PRSI and a standard travel allowance of up to €20 per week), maintenance, savings and investments.
Savings and investments (including property, but not the family home) are assessed as follows:
| Capital | Weekly means assessed |
| First €5,000 | not taken into account |
| Next €10,000 | €1 per €1,000 |
| Next €25,000 | €2 per €1,000 |
| Balance | €4 per €1,000 |
Any income a family gets from Child Benefit, Rent Supplement, Working Family Payment, Guardian’s Payments, Blind Welfare Allowance, Rehabilitation Training Allowance, rehabilitative employment (up to €120 per week), Domiciliary Care Allowance, Mobility Allowance is not counted.
Income Limits for 2019 are:-
| Couple with: | Income Limit | Lone Parent with: | Income Limit |
| 1 child | €600.70 | 1 child | €435.30 |
| 2 children | €637.70 | 2 children | €472.30 |
| 3 children | €674.70 | 3 children | €509.30 |
| 4 children | €711.70* | 4 children | €546.30* |
*Limit is increased by €37 for each additional child.
Full information on the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is available here.
County breakdown of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance up to 22 August 2019
| County | BSCFA applications Awarded up to 22 August |
| Carlow |
2,378 |
| Cavan |
2,294 |
| Clare |
2,953 |
| Cork |
12,230 |
| Donegal |
6,007 |
| Dublin |
33,302 |
| Galway |
5,920 |
| Kerry |
3,816 |
| Kildare |
5,468 |
| Kilkenny |
2,337 |
| Laois |
2,567 |
| Leitrim |
945 |
| Limerick |
5,853 |
| Longford |
1,777 |
| Louth |
4,877 |
| Mayo |
3,669 |
| Meath |
4,635 |
| Monaghan |
1,832 |
| Offaly |
2,588 |
| Roscommon |
1,680 |
| Sligo |
1,761 |
| Tipperary |
5,023 |
| Waterford |
4,103 |
| Westmeath |
2,938 |
| Wexford |
5,503 |
| Wicklow |
3,554 |
| Total |
130,010 |
Contact Details
E: press.office@welfare.ie
T: 01 704 3082
Twitter: @welfare_ie