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Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
From Department of Social Protection
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Last updated on
Important Note
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for 2021 is closed. No further applications are being accepted.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for 2022 will open in June 2022.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is a means-tested once-off payment aimed at helping families with the extra costs of clothing and footwear when children start school each autumn.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme is open from 1 June to 30 September each year.
Budget 2022 Changes:
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance increases by €10 for each qualifying child from July 2022.
The maximum income threshold to qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for single parent households will be increased to equal that of two parent households.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme for 2021 is closed.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme for 2022 will operate under the new rules as announced in Budget 2022.
To qualify for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, you must meet the following conditions:
- you must be in receipt of a qualifying social protection payment or participating in an approved employment, education or training support scheme
- you must be in receipt of an increase for a qualified child (IQC) in respect of each child for whom the allowance is being claimed (except in certain circumstances)
- each child being claimed for must be:
aged between 4 and 17 or
aged between 18 and 22, and returning to second-level education in the autumn
- the assessable income for your household must be within a set income limit
- you and each child in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State
| Child’s age | Rate |
| 4 – 11 | €150 |
| 12 – 22 | €275 |
Remember, children between 18 and 22 years old must be in second-level education to qualify.
| Child’s age | Rate |
| 4 – 11 | €160 |
| 12 – 22 | €285 |
Remember, children between 18 and 22 years old must be in second-level education to qualify.
Through a matching process in the department, many customers will receive the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment automatically. Award letters issue to these customers in June.
If you have not received an award letter for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance by the end of June, and you satisfy the qualifying conditions, you will need to make an application online at www.MyWelfare.ie even if you automatically received the payment last year.
To apply online you must have a verified MyGovID account. Details can be found here on how to verify your MyGovID account.
The closing date to apply for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for 2021 was 30 September 2021. No further applications are being accepted.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for 2022 will open in June 2022.
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Section
Website:
Email:
Phone number:
Operational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.
