FAMILIES in Inishowen who qualify
for help to clothe their children for school will
get an extra 25 per child as new budget measures
kick in next month.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
2019 will be paid from the first week of July.
The new rate for each primary school pupil has risen
to 150 while children and young adults aged 12 -22
years will get 275.
A family of two primary and one second level child,
for example, will qualify for a total payment of
575.
Meanwhile, recipients can expect prompter payments
this year following a major glitch that led to long
processing delays in 2018.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social
Protection has confirmed that an investigation has
since been carried out into the cause of the
problem.
An internal review of the scheme administration in
2018 has been undertaken and systems and processes
have been developed to ensure that applications are
processed more efficiently this year. Technical
issues experienced in 2018 have been resolved, said
a spokesperson.
The allowance is a nationwide scheme that provides a
once-off annual payment to eligible families,
including welfare recipients, to help cover the
costs of school clothing and footwear.
Funding of 56.3 million has been provided for the
scheme this year.
The department said it is currently processing
payments. The money will automatically be paid to
almost 110,000 families in respect of about 200,000
children from the week beginning July 8.
Families who do not receive notification of payment
by the end of June will need to apply, even if they
received the payment last year.
Application forms will be available in all Intreo
Centres from June 24, via text, or email to
BSCFA@welfare.ie
. More details at
www.welfare.ie . |
