What you need to know about the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance

It's that time of year again.

The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is a nationwide Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection scheme that provides a once-off payment to eligible families towards the cost of school clothing and footwear. Families with automatic entitlement to the Back to School Allowance should have written confirmation of their entitlement next month, but if you have never applied before here are some things you should know.   The Back to School Allowance scheme is open for applications from 20 June 2022 to 30 September 2022. The Back to School Allowance is paid automatically to many families. If you are paid automatically you don’t have to apply for the Back to School Allowance. You will get a letter before 21 June 2022 to let you know that you will be paid automatically. If you don’t get a letter by 21 June 2022, you must apply for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance online using MyWelfare.ie. n 2022, the allowance paid for each eligible child aged 4-11 on 30 September 2022 is €160. In 2022, the allowance paid for each eligible child aged 12-22 on 30 September is €285. Children aged between 18 and 22 years must be returning to full-time second-level education in a recognised school or college in the autumn of 2022. The closing date for applications is 30 September 2022. Families who have applied but do not receive notification from the Department of an automated payment this week will need to make an application online on www.MyWelfare.ie even if they received a payment last year. The Department is providing dedicated phone lines 071 9193318 and 0818 11 11 13 to answer enquiries relating to the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. People also have the choice of emailing the Department at bscfa@welfare.ie if they have an enquiry regarding their application or entitlement. Families in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment may qualify provided they meet all other qualifying criteria. For more information on the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance visit Citizens Information here.