Over 2,000 Cavan families to benefit from back to school allowance this week

€160 will be allocated for children aged 4-11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.

2,174 Co Cavan families and 3,991 children are set to benefit this week when the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is released.

Minister Heather Humphreys has indicated this afternoon that 126,000 families nationally will receive over €47.5M is back to school supports this year. The allocation includes €160 for children aged 4-11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.

In Co Monaghan, 1,725 families and 3,208 will benefit from the allocation. Minister Humphreys says the scheme is a vital means of support to parents at this time of year.

“The costs associated with children both starting and returning to school can put a lot of financial pressure on families throughout the country,” she added.

“The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance provides valuable support to families to assist with these costs and I would urge anybody who has not yet applied to check their eligibility for the scheme.”

Meanwhile, the Minister insists that this latest development is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to supporting families in Ireland.

“The support that we are providing today is on top of a number of measures that we have introduced in order to support families across the country with the cost of living. These include a major roll-out of the Hot School Meals Programme and the delivery of the Free School Books Scheme.

“These supports are in addition to the double Child Benefit Payment and increases to the Working Family Payment threshold which have benefitted tens of thousands of working families. As Minister, I will continue to support working families, who will form a big focus of our Budget negotiations that will take place over the next number of weeks.”