For anyone needing impartial, confidential, non-judgemental and informed advice and support the Citizens Information Service is here to help.
Funded by the Citizens Information Board, Athlone CIC, is part of North Leinster Citizens Information Service, a regional service with Citizens Information Centres located throughout the counties of Westmeath, Meath, Louth, Kildare and Longford.
A growing number of customers require in-depth assistance and CIS plays an important role in providing advocacy with, or on behalf of, those people who need it from all walks of life.
As families are preparing for children returning to school, information about the supports that are available can be obtained at your local Citizens Information Centre.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is a means-tested once-off payment aimed at helping families with the extra costs of clothing and footwear when children start school each autumn. The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme is open from June 1 to September 30 each year. Through a matching process in the department, many customers will receive the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment automatically. Award letters issued to these customers in June.
If you have not received an award letter for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance by the end of June and you satisfy the qualifying conditions, you will need to make an application online at www.MyWelfare.ie, even if you automatically received the payment last year.
The online application is open since June 20, the closing date to apply for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance being September 30.
To qualify for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, you must meet the following conditions:
you must be in receipt of a qualifying social protection payment or participating in an approved employment, education or training support scheme. Working Family Payment is regarded as a qualifying social protection payment.
you must be in receipt of an increase for a qualified child (IQC ) in respect of each child for whom the allowance is being claimed (except in certain circumstances )
each child being claimed for must be: aged between 4 and 17 or aged between 18 and 22, and returning to second-level education in the autumn
the assessable income for your household must be within a set income limit
you and each child in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.
The rates of payment have been temporarily increased by €100 for this year only. For children aged 4 to 11, the rate of payment this year is €260, for those aged 12 to 22 the rate is €385.
School Transport
Anyone who has applied for and receives a school transport ticket for the academic year 2022/23 will not be charged a fee for their school bus ticket this year.
“Whoever you are, whatever stage in life, we are here to help. Our services are free and confidentiality is key for us. Your query can relate to anything. If we cannot help we will know where you can get the help and advice you need.
"For anyone needing impartial, confidential, non-judgemental and informed advice and support the CIS is here to help. There are many ways to access our services. Our website www.citizensinformation.ie is packed full of helpful information.
"For further information, to find out our opening hours, if you would like us to address a specific query or to book an appointment with a member of our team please contact your local Citizens Information Centre on 0818 07 6610 or email [email protected] We are available from Monday to Friday and our services are free and confidential," Deborah Dwyer, Development Manager, CIS, stated.
