By Mary Newman Julian, Fine Gael General Election Candidate for Tipperary
Families have one week left to apply for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. This is a very important support for families to help cover the cost of back to school.
As a parent of young children myself I know that the costs can add up, and for families who meet the income thresholds the Allowance can help ease the financial burden of this time of year.
It is an important support that is available to ease the stress of back-to-school costs.
As an aspiring TD I hope to focus on new ways that we can reduce the overall financial burden on parents that can feel overwhelming at the start of the school year.
The fact that the Back to School allowance has increased by €25 per child this year is extremely welcome.
According to my colleague, Minister for Social Protection, Regina Doherty, more than 138,000 families have already received this payment since this year’s scheme opened in July.
But I would urge everyone to check their eligibility for the scheme and to ensure that they apply for the allowance this week before the scheme closes for applications on September 30.
An allowance of €150 is paid for each eligible child who is aged 4 to 11 on or before September 30, 2019.
Meanwhile an allowance of €275 is paid for each eligible child aged 12 – 22.
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.
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 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.
The full detail of who is eligible for the scheme can be found on the Department’s website (http://www.welfare.ie/en/
