Applications now open to parents for social welfare payment worth €285 per child

Applications for the 2025 Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance are now open for eligible households all around the country.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is a once-off social welfare payment made to eligible families to assist them with the cost of sending their children back to school.
The rate of payment for 2025 is €160 for children aged 4 - 11 and €285 for children aged 12 years and over in second-level education. Students aged between 18 - 22 years must be returning to full-time second-level education in a recognised school or college in the autumn of 2025 to retain an entitlement to the payment.
Some €54 million has been secured for the scheme this year, with more than 114,000 families, in respect of approximately 197,000 children, set to receive the automatically-paid allowance on the week beginning July 14 to help them with the cost of school uniforms and footwear.
The Department of Social Protection is currently processing these payments and recipients will receive confirmation informing them of their automatic entitlement, on their MyWelfare account or by post.
Families who do not receive notification from the Department of an automated payment are being urged to make an application online on www.MyWelfare.ie, even if they received a payment last year.
Online applications are now open and the closing date to apply for this year's Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is September 30.
Commenting on the scheme, Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary TD, said: 'I am delighted to announce that the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for 2025 opens for applications today.
'I recognise the pressure that families are under in relation to back-to-school costs and have secured €54.4 million for the scheme this year.
'More than 75 per cent of payments under this scheme will be paid without the need to make an application. My Department will issue automatic payments to more than 114,000 families in July and I would urge all families to check their eligibility for this important scheme.'
To qualify for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, you must meet the following conditions:

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