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OVER 126,000 FAMILIES are to receive the Back to School Allowance this week, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has announced.
Over €47.5 million is to be paid in total to the eligible families, which is intended to help families with the cost of school uniforms and footwear ahead of the upcoming school term.
A sum of €160 will be paid out for children aged between four and eleven, and €285 will be paid in respect of children aged 12 and over in second level education.
Across all eligible families who have applied to avail of the scheme, there are 223,050 children who will benefit from the once-off payment.
Commenting on the payments, Humphreys said she was “delighted” to announce that the payments are to commence from today.
“This scheme is so important in terms of supporting parents in meeting their back-to-school costs over the coming weeks,” she said.
The payment is automated. A notification of the payment will be sent to families by post or through their MyWelfare account.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance remains open for applications until September 30. Eligible families are encouraged to apply.
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3075 we’ll will have a metro to the Airport
@Darragh Mcnamara: brilliant …but unfortunately true
@Darragh Mcnamara: Aren’t you the optimistic one!
@Darragh Mcnamara: not an olympic year unfortunately
@John K: we could just hold it anyway.
@Darragh Mcnamara: travelling around Copenhagen all week using the rail.and metro. My god how simple as a nation we are. What Dublin could be like…but it isn’t…
@Darragh Mcnamara: Naa ..not going to happen…too expensive.
@John K: neither was 2021
@Gearoid O Chorraigh: when did the cost of any government contracts matter?
Maybe 2076 to give them more time to build the velodrome.
@John K: buck Rogers didn’t even go that far into the future
@John K: Bam good idea
@John K: about that time we should have our Cork event centre and the Cork Luas and the people can be transported between the events by the flying pigs.
@John K:Is it thr 1st of April already.
@John K: It might, just might, be a better idea to use the money to Save the Planet first!!
Let’s provide homes for the people with access to money followed by the people with little or no access to money. £12bn is a lot to spend on a sporting event when there’s people sleeping on the streets.
@Master Tech: I’m reporting this comment for being anti-fat people
Look how long it took them to put in cycle lane from Clontarf through North Strand,they do infrastructure maps with crayons.. wouldn’t let them host a tea party..
@Will Q: you do know that water works and electrical works formed part of that, its not just a cycle lane
Is this to tie in with the completion of the metro and children’s hospital ?
@Sean Parker: and the limerick to cork motorway
@James Moylan: I admire your optimism James / however can’t see Limerick-Cork motorway being completed by 2072 – guaranteed there’ll be a plan for it sitting on a shelf somewhere though so there’s that at least.
@Patrick O’Leary: look how long it took them to build the Macroom bypass!!! I know I shouldn’t complain as there is scant traffic on it,at any time of the day or night,just like most of the cycle lanes!!!!!!
Lol thanks for the laugh
Maybe we could host the Tiddlywinks competition.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: We do already. It’s called League of Ireland.
Should we bid for the the Olympics that’s nearly half a century away…Geeze I dunno, bit ambitious isn’t it…jesus wept!
Any chance the government of the day and all future governments actually puts the citizens of our country first and adequately addresses and fixes all that is wrong within our society ie: housing, health, drug dealing, criminality etc….. with the proper and responsible will, it can be done and can be fixed!
@Niall Binéad: let’s tackle criminality says the lad with a terrorist as his avatar
@Dermot Blaine: Paid Troll!
@Brian Hunt: paid? If only
@Dermot Blaine: now, now Dermo…. play nice! Try staying on topic lad!
What parallel universe does Malcolm Byrne live on, omg, what a Brainfart by him. This man’s party are currently over seeing the National Children’s Hospital farce & have brought record homelessness figures record Hospital waiting lists & a Housing crisis that could collapse the State & this Genius wants us to host the Olympics ! Is it any wonder the country is going down the swanny at a rate of knots. This guy will probably be a Minister in the future, beggars belief.
@SV3tN8M4: About time you woke up and realised that anybody can be a Minister
Even you would be able bluff it. You never seem to have a solution for any problem.
Just like all your old Buddys in FFG
@David Murray: You need to buy a bigger fishing rod & make sure it’s longer than your lad or you’ll never catch anything at all.
Maybe we could work on the housing crisis, public transport and infrastructure before entertaining such a boom-time pipe dream.
@Big rob: But then we couldn’t afford a FF photo opportunity such as hosting the Olympic games!
The poll shows the amount of trust we have in any irish organisation trying to host such an event. It would only damage us further..
No
We’ll all be in prison for posting a comment on social media by then…
@pat kelly: This sounds like the beginning of a Stewart Lee routine!
@SerotoninWars: Stewart Lee’s BreXit “it wasn’t just Ra*ist that voted for berxit, Cu*s voted too” was hilarious.. All we wanted was bendy Bananas!
We’d never qualify, we have Third World infrastructure and Third World politicians!
@Brian Hunt: Fourth world, even the infrastructure in some of the developing countries is miles ahead of Ireland
All for it, but like there’s no way the IOC would approve a bid for a country that doesn’t have a Metro in its capital city. Build that first.
@David Healion: Only another 10bn to the cost then so, for two things we don’t need or want: Olympics 12bn, Metro 10bn (and if you think WE can stick to those prices I’ve a bridge to sell you
@Geironymous Bosch: what kind of bridge?
The Childrens Hospital might be open by then.
@GERRY MURPHY:
@Michael Howe: come on get real
According to the far right, everyone in the world will be living in Ireland by then, so it would make sense in terms of convenience.
Proposal for next poll
Should Ireland land an astronaut on Mars in 3016 to celebrate independence?
@Padraig O’Brien: you mean 3916? Slightly more realistic
our submission will be as funny and as arrogant as our bid for the rugby world cup.
Even Croker is nowhere near large enough to accommodate the track and field infrastructure
There is not a hope in hell that this will ever happen, no chance of a city that doesn’t have an underground serving the entire city will ever get the Olympics. And even if that miracle was to ever happen, we’d still need a brand new Olympic stadium, stadiums for gymnastics, basketball, tennis, boxing and cycling to name a few. So sadly this is no more than a pipe dream.
Malcolm thinks there’s an election coming!!!!
Look how long and how much the hospital is taking,
There won’t be too many around here to see it but why not! We’d be grateful if the previous generation laid the groundwork for a huge event in our lifetime. It might be a good exercise in long term planning, something we’re absolutely terrible at if we’re honest with ourselves!
Everyone here will be dead then
Definitely Not. First House everyone, finish and open more hospitals, improve our transport infrastructure, roads, electric, water, sewerage and then we might be able to call ourselves a first world country instead of a beggar on horseback.
Come for the Olympics, get nowhere due to 3rd world level public transport that is an embarrassment but no one is doing anything to improve. Would be gas.
Sure by then we’d all be brilliant at running long distances ;-)
I’ll be 104, can’t wait, looking forward to it.
Why are they running a poll on this here…genuinely most of the readers/commenters will be dead.
So what? We could donate our organs & still participate!
Will we have to re open Tara Street and the Iveagh Baths.
@Eddienowy Byrne: And a city centre market – unless they open baths there, it’s waterlogged enough.
Why not, by then Ireland will be united.
Is this more delusional and ridiculous electioneering, like the suggested railway to the North West?
Your man says we need to invest in “long-term planning”. Is he mad??? Talking common sense… He’ll be scolded by his peers for this outrageous idea.
The very idea of long term is anathema to our ‘elites’ anyway. Next elections is the longest they can think of
I’d qualify for the heartburn hurdles atm, busy weekend..
Looking forward to it
Definitely be in for a medal for the open border race
I would be very happy to see the Olympics in Ireland in 2072. In fact I will be very happy if I can see anything anywhere in 2072.
Only 1 Olympics in the last 50 years has turned a profit, Los Angeles 84. Knowing how Ireland operates it would cripple the country.
@Gearoid MacEachaidh: That would be no problem to Malcolm & Fianna Fail, sure they have already bankrupted the State previously.
52 years we’ll be all brown bread
Let’s try finish the children’s hospital first , if we have spare millions , let’s build more hospitals and schools instead
Did you ever hear such hear such rubbish in your life.
We can only offer, twill be great craic
Won’t bother me id be very surprised if I was still on this mortal Plain
Is today April 1st?
And pig flying could be a new Olympic category.
They might have finally cleaned up boxing by then.
I don’t care I’ll be pushing up daisies by then.
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
yes
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Ireland is too small for it ever to happen here.
Ireland not in a position to organise a massive event like olympics…..
can’t even cope with the all ireland finals or big rugby matches or concerts…
I had to check the date there, not April.
Really lousanne University’s smarter cities program is worth a look first if it’s heading in that direction
Let’s bid for 3434 event.
There wouldn’t be enough money on the planet to fund such an event in Ireland. At the rate governments overspend on projects, it would end up costing trillions and still probably not be ready in time.
It would be great but I’d be afraid that it would be a washout with rain
Remember what happened to Greece when they held it. Still haven’t recovered
The metro will be opened just in time for that so people will be able to board a train at the airport to take them straight to the city centre.
Something to look forward too
I turn 100 the following year / be big couple of years for me…..
Couldn’t care less, I’ll be long in the grave by then
Oh I can’t wait! I’ll only 26!
Why not in 2354?
Yep and award the contract to BAM. What could go wrong?
Would b safe enough sure those that voted yes will be dead by the time it cums round including me
@liam ward: Speak for yourself, I’ll be a healthy and active 100 year old by then.
I will be 84 at that stage, and im a smoker so probably wont be around
No . Basically
When you look at the price gouging that went on during the Fleadh recently imagine the whole country at it!?!?!?!?!
O be in heaven by den
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