I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 307 together.
The costings sought by the Deputy are detailed in the following tables.
Table 1: Cost of increasing the duration of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
% Increase in Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
|
Cost in 2018, €m
|
25% increase
|
12.5
|
50% increase
|
17.6
|
Table 2: Cost of increasing the duration of the Fuel Allowance by varying numbers of weeks
Number of weeks
|
Cost in 2018, €m
|
1 week
|
8.80
|
2 weeks
|
17.60
|
3 weeks
|
26.40
|
4 weeks
|
35.20
|
5 weeks
|
44.00
|
6 weeks
|
52.85
|
It should be noted that these costings are subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2018.