Thousands of low-income working families have been refused the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance because they fall outside the payment's income threshold.
Some families have been rejected because they are just 5 euro over the threshold.
To qualify, a family's total income must be below a certain amount but the strict means-tested rules do not take into account expenses such as rent or mortgage costs.
Chief Executive of Barnardos Fergus Finlay says it will have a very bad effect on some children:
