THE date a €160 or €285 payment for Irish parents will land into bank accounts has been confirmed.
And those eligible for the payment, which officially opened for applications last week, have been urged to apply before it’s too late.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is designed to help parents cover the cost of children returning to school.
It is expected to be paid out in the week starting on July 7th.
Last year, Back to School Clothing and Footwear payments totalling €57.04m were made to more than 149,500 families in respect of 264,400 qualified children.
It is expected that a similar number will benefit from the scheme this year.
Many families get the BSCFA automatically and don’t need to apply.
But those who haven’t been notified of the payment on their MyWelfare account or through post by today could miss out on the lump sum.
And applications for the payment will close until next year on September 30.
Those who apply for the cash later in the summer will receive the payment later than others.
The payment is €160 for children aged between four and 11 years old.
Parents will receive a €285 payment for children aged between 12 and 22 – but those over 18 must be returning to full-time second level education in the autumn of 2025 in order to be eligible.
Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary last year confirmed that the BSCFA will not cover extra costs parents face ahead of the school year.
When asked by Sinn Fein TD Louise O’Reilly if he is aware that many parents rely on back to school payments for help to pay for iPads or other devices used in the classroom, he confirmed the allowance only covers clothing and footwear.
But the Fianna Fail TD said parents may be eligible to apply for other social welfare payments.
Calleary said: “Applications for financial support which fall outside the rules and timeframe of the scheme may be considered for an Additional Needs Payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.
Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local Community Welfare Service.”
WHO QUALIFIES?
Those who are eligible for BSCFA must be getting a Child Support Payment, previously called an Increase for a Qualified Child, with your payment – but there are exceptions to this rule.
Those who don’t receive the Child Support Payment must still be getting a qualifying social welfare payment to claim BSCFA.
You can still claim if the rules of your payment do not provide for a child payment, such as Maternity Benefit and Adoptive Benefit.
If this is not the case, you can still claim BSCFA if your spouse or partner’s income is over the specified limit for your payment, but your overall household income is within the BSCFA income limits.
QUALIFYING PAYMENTS
THERE a number of social welfare payments that are treated as a qualifying social welfare payment for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.
- Social Insurance Payments
- Deserted Wife’s Benefit
- Illness Benefit
- Disablement Benefit
- Carer’s Benefit
- Health and Safety Benefit
- Invalidity Pension
- Injury Benefit
- State Pension (Contributory)
- Partial Capacity Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit
- Widow’s/Widower’s/Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension
- Guardian’s Payment (Contributory)
- Maternity Benefit
- Adoptive Benefit
Social Assistance Payments
- Blind Person’s Pension
- Carer’s Allowance
- Deserted Wife’s Allowance
- Disability Allowance
- Working Family Payment
- Farm Assist
- State Pension (Non-Contributory)
- One Parent Family Payment
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Widow’s Widower’s Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension
- Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory)
The BSCFA is a means tested, once off, lump sum payment given to those who meet the criteria.
The weekly income limit for BSCFA is €694 for a family with one child, but this amount increases by €62 for each additional dependent child.
All dependent children, including those over 18 in third level education, will be counted when applying the income limit.
When assessing income from wages, the DSP looks at income before tax – but PRSI and a standard travel allowance of up to €20 each week is not included.
Savings, investments, shares and property – but not your own home – are also assessed as part of the means test.
