Parents ‘turning to loan sharks over school grant delay’
‘Bills would be even bigger without rental scheme’
DELAYS in applications for Back to School payments are forcing parents to ‘turn to money lenders’ as the benefit office shuts its doors to deal with the backlog.
Parents struggling to meet books, clothes and travel costs have been left in financial limbo as the Department of Social Protection is snowed under with claims for the clothes and footwear allowance.
According to Sinn Féin’s John Brady, the delay in processing applications will force parents to turn to risky loans.
He said his office has been ‘inundated’ with calls from parents who are ‘completely in the dark’.
‘I have been contacted by parents in absolute panic at the fact that they are yet to receive the Back to School clothing and footwear payment,’ he added.
‘We are just over two weeks away from back to school and parents are struggling with the enormous costs involved.
‘Already I’ve had a couple of people who said that they have no other choice now but to go with a loan shark to get the money until the payment is made.
‘It is absolutely scandalous that’s the situation, forcing people in to the arms of loan sharks to try to get their kids back to school.’
In the midst of the delay, the department has closed its call centre for the coming days, leaving parents without a helpline to get updates on their application.
A spokesperson for the department said that the phone line is being closed to allow staff to focus on dealing with the backlog as quickly as possible.
The spokesperson added that extra staff resources have also been assigned to processing the applications and they will continue to provide updates on their website and social media sites.
However, Deputy Brady, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for employment affairs and social protection, said there is ‘no excuse’ for the delay and it’s parents who are paying the price.
He said: ‘Parents have no idea what is going on within the department and they have no idea when they will receive their payment,’ he added. The only option being left to them is to seek high interest and high risk loans.
‘The bottom line is the resources weren’t put in place to deal with this. This is an annual payment, you would think that the department and the minister would be on top of this knowing the sheer volume of applications and such a short window of opportunity for parents getting the books, getting the uniforms, getting the shoes before the kids start back.’
The allowance provides a one-off payment to eligible families to help cover the expense of clothing and footwear each autumn.
The rate of the payment is €125 for children aged 4 to 11, and €250 for children aged 12 and over.
Most of this year’s payments to around 104,000 families, including around 190,308 children were fully automated and parents didn’t need to make an application.
The department said that all applications received up until July 25 have been acknowledged and customers should have received a text to let them know that their application is pending. They added that applications received on July 6 and 9 are currently being processed and these customers will shortly receive confirmation of the outcome in writing, with payments issuing to eligible parents on a daily basis.
But some took to social media to vent their frustration at the delay.
Debbie Morone tweeted the department: ‘What date are they working on now please? Parents have their backs against the wall, it’s disgraceful.’
The Department of Social Protection told the Irish Daily Mail last night that it is dealing with the backlog as quickly as possible, and apologised to those still waiting for an update, adding that they understand the concerns of parents and guardians and the financial pressure they are under.