Record number of back-to-school grant applications

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) is dealing with a record number of applications for the back-to-school grant.

More than €39 million has already been paid out under the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) funded by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The payments available range from €200 for children up to 11 and €305 for children between 12 and 17 years old or for dependent children aged 18 to 22 who are in full-time education.

A new measure introduced this year gives families a total payment of €520 for 18-year-olds for whom only the half rate of child benefit is paid out.

A HSE spokesperson said it received 146,300 claims under the BSCFA scheme up to last Friday, and applications are up around 20% on this time last year. It has already processed 86,753 of these claims, and paid out an average of €502 to almost 78,000 successful families, with around 9,000 opened applications still being considered.

"These cases are looked at again and may well qualify after further consideration. Staff will work on the scheme until the closing day of September 30 and are likely to remain working on the closing of the scheme well into October," he said.

The HSE got Department of Finance approval in May to assign 37 community welfare officers to work full-time on the scheme and overtime has also been approved in areas where there is a particularly high volume of applications. The aim is to ensure staff can process all cases ahead of the new school year, which starts next week for many second-level schools.

"Staff are currently working on the remaining 59,537 claims and this figure is being reduced substantially on a daily basis. HSE staff are working flat out to ensure that as many people as possible are paid by the end of the month," the spokesperson said.

The target processing time for applications is around six weeks and families are entitled to apply up to the end of September.

It is understood payments were made to almost 14,000 families under the scheme last week, while applications have been coming in at a rate of more than 13,000 a week.

Any family whose claim is turned down can appeal the decision to the independent HSE appeals officer who will give them the opportunity to have their file reviewed or have an oral hearing into their appeal.

Last year, €48m was paid to 102,000 families in respect of more than 200,000 children, up from €25m in 2006 for 79,000 families and 162,000 children.

Local councils and Vocational Education Committees are expected to handle a record number of applications for third-level student grants. Applicants must send in completed forms by the end of this month. More than 54,000 people havealready been offered college places and the next round of offers will be made by the Central Applications Office (CAO) on Friday week,August 28.