Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2026
2094. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the current processing timeframes for new applications for back to school clothing footwear allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58784/26]
View answerThe 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 2 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.
The total budget allocated for the scheme in 2026 is €60.4m. The scheme opened to new applications on 3 June 2026 and all applications are processed in date order. To date Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payments totaling €51.3m have issued to 132,000 families in respect of 244,600 qualified children, including over 111,000 families who received the payment automatically without having to submit an application.
In the period since 3 June, 43,365 applications have been received, 33,334 (77%) of which have been processed. Officers are currently processing applications received on Monday 10 July.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme remains open to new applications on www.mywelfare.ie until 30 September 2026.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
