Social welfare Ireland payment warning as one group may not get €285 allowance
One group of recipients may no longer receive a popular social welfare payment as they are being urged to reapply.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance applications open in the coming weeks - however, some parents that previously automatically qualified may not this year. In general, if your child is aged between 18-22, you could be asked to provide evidence that they are returning to full-time second-level education in a recognised school in the autumn of 2025 - this is one of the criteria for this age group.
You will know if this is the case, as the Department of Social Protection (DSP) will let you know if you will be paid automatically using your MyWelfare account, or by post. If you don't hear from the DSP by the end of June, you must apply for BSCFA online, even if you got the BSCFA payment last year.
If your child is aged between four and 11 on 30 September, you could qualify for a cash boost of €160, whereas, if your child is aged between 12 and 22, you may receive €285. Applications for the 2025 BSCFA season will open in June.
You can get the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) if you have a child that qualifies, and:
You are getting a qualifying social welfare payment, or are participating in an approved employment, education or training support scheme. See a list of qualifying payments and schemes on Gov.ie
Your household is within the BSCFA income limits
You and each child you claim the BSCFA for are resident in Ireland.
If you are getting a social welfare payment, you must be getting a Child Support Payment (previously called an Increase for a Qualified Child or IQC) with your payment. There are some exceptions to this.
If you are getting a qualifying social welfare payment but you don't get a Child Support Payment, you can still claim BSCFA if:
The rules of your payment do not provide for a child payment (for example, Maternity Benefit and Adoptive Benefit), or
Your spouse or partner's income is over the specified limit for your payment, but your overall household income is within the BSCFA income limits.
You must meet the other rules for getting BSCFA.
To get the BSCFA, your child must be:
Aged between 4-17 on 30 September in the year you apply
Aged between 18-22 and returning to full-time second-level education in a recognised school or college in the autumn of the year you apply
Your child must be resident in Ireland. Foster children do not qualify for the BSCFA. This is because foster parents get a Foster Care Allowance, which includes help with the cost of clothing and footwear for the child.
You can find out more about the payment here.
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