Record €90m in back to school payouts

ALMOST 200,000 families struggling to pay for school uniforms and shoes have been given record payments of over €90 million — allowances that will be cut next year and axed for children under four.

The Department of Social Protection expects to have paid the back to school clothing and footwear allowance for 390,000 children when all claims are processed.

It had over 530 claims still to be finalised and a small number of appeals on hand the week before Christmas, following a record number of applications this year.