Hundreds of families await school allowances

The Irish Times, 2 September 1999
By Padraig O'Morain

Hundreds of families in the Eastern Health Board area are waiting for "back to school" footwear and clothing allowances for their children, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs has confirmed.

The problem was raised by Senator Joe Costello (Labour) who said he feared some families had "turned to loan sharks to foot the bill for uniforms and other back-to-school items".

The Department said forms had been sent to 30,000 low-income families in the board region from June onwards. Only 10,000 had been returned by mid-July and this was the main cause of the delay. Other families had been slow to forward details sought by the board after they sent in their forms.

However, Mr Costello said the problem was one of administration. "It should not be a big deal to ensure that these people, who have already been means-tested and their personal circumstances are detailed on a database, to be paid their entitlements on time before the school term begins," he said.

A campaign for improvements in the "back to school" allowance was launched yesterday by the Open Your Eyes to Child Poverty Initiative. The initiative is a campaign established by Barnardo's, the Children’s Rights Alliance, Combat Poverty, the National Youth Council of Ireland, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and others.

Ms Mary Murphy of the Society of St Vincent de Paul said the present allowances were too low.