Back to school payments delayed

DELAYS IN processing the back-to-school clothing and footwear scheme mean 60 per cent of families in some parts of the State have not yet received their payment, according to figures from the HSE.

Some families will not receive funding in time for the new school term, which begins at the end of the week.

There has been a 20 per cent increase in applications for the vital Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance so far, the HSE has said. It is now receiving 1,000 claims a day.

The means-tested allowance, which operates from June 1st to September 30th, aims to help low-income families meet the cost of uniforms and footwear for children attending school.

It is also available for over-18s in full-time education who meet certain conditions.

The payment for children at primary school level is €200 and for over-12s is €305. To qualify, a couple’s income must not exceed between €563 and €653 weekly, depending on the number of children in the family.

A lone parent may earn up to between €410 and €500.

More than 155,000 applications for the scheme had been received by community welfare officers around the country up to last Friday.

Of those, almost 110,000 claims had been paid, at a cost of just under €53.5 million. In some parts of the State there have been delays in processing.

More than 60 per cent of claims in Limerick, Clare, north Tipperary, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon had not been paid by last Friday. In Cork and Kerry, almost 40 per cent of claims remained to be paid. The figure was 32 per cent for Wexford, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny and south Tipperary.

In the Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow area, 18 per cent of claims remained to be paid last Friday. The figure was 15 per cent for Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath and for Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. The HSE area incorporating Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan had 12 per cent of claims remaining to be paid.

In a statement to The Irish Timesyesterday, a spokesman for the HSE said it was confident successful applicants who applied before mid-July would receive their payments before the schools reopened, but some payments would not be made in time for the new school year.

“Every effort is being made to expedite payments under the scheme,” he said.