Important Notice for any families applying for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for September 2013:
Automatic Payment
As was the case the last few years, about 110,000 people will receive the Back to School payment without having to reapply. If you are receiving the payment automatically you will receive a letter by the end of this week informing you of your entitlement.
Payment will be issued automatically along with weekly social welfare payments on the week of 15 July.
Applying for the Allowance
If you do not receive a letter by the 19th June about the automatic payment, you must complete an application form and apply for the Back to School payment.
Forms will be available in your Local Social Welfare Offices, via SMS (text "Form BTSCFA" followed by your name and address to 51909) and also on www.welfare.ie from 20th June.
Do I qualify?
To qualify for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance you must:
- be in receipt of a qualifying Social Welfare payment
- the payment must include an increase(s) in respect of a child/children
- they must satisfy a means test.
The rates of payment are €100 for children between the age of 4 and 11 years and €200 for children between 12 and 22 years.
For more info on the scheme you can lo-call 1890 662 244 or of contact me if you have a query about not receiving a letter directly. You can also visit the section of the Social Welfare website here.
The automated process was introduced by Minster Joan Burton when her Department took responsibility for directly administering the payment.
This arrangement has done much to reduce the large number of claims not processed until after schools have re-opened, which puts parents and guardians at risk of getting into debt to meet the costs of outfitting their child for the new school year.
