Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her questions and will try to answer as many of them as I can.

Regarding exceptional and urgent needs payments, there was €3.7 million of an underspend due to a lower number of one-off payments than was provided for in the Revised Estimate and this resulted in a saving of €19.8 million. We estimate allocations when putting the budget together but there were 38,000 fewer payments than we expected. This was offset by a cost of €16 million due to a higher average payment value than was provided for in the Revised Estimate due to the nature of the one-off payments and the fact that the value of claims can vary significantly over time.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment to meet essential one-off expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her normal weekly income. An urgent needs payment is a one-off payment made to persons who would not normally qualify for SWA but who would have an urgent need. This payment is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering it, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of each case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance. Unlike other payments administered under the SWA scheme, the habitual residence condition does not apply to emergency needs payments or urgent needs payments. By its nature, the housing category is the largest expenditure within the exceptional needs payment scheme, accounting for over 68% of expenditure in 2020. This includes payments for necessary items, for example, bedding, flooring, furniture, household appliances, rent deposits and rent in advance. As the committee knows, I have changed the criteria for women and men who were victims of domestic violence so that they do not have to be means tested for the first three months of rent supplement payments.

I will provide some figures. In 2021, bills accounted for 1,387 payments, child-related costs accounted for 1,733, clothing accounted for 6,954, funeral expenses accounted for 2,085, general expenses accounted for 11,077, housing accounted for 21,373, illness accounted for 1,088 and urgent needs payments accounted for 259. Some people might not have been able to get the same access to this scheme during Covid - I do not know - but the money is there and available to those who need it.

As the committee knows, I want to make some changes to community employment schemes. I will consider the rural social scheme as well. Deputy Ó Cuív has raised it with me a number of times.

Regarding vacancies in community employment schemes, there is a shortage in the labour market because people are in employment or are not choosing to join a community employment scheme. There are many reasons. We want to encourage people to take up these opportunities to get experience and full-time employment. The primary purpose of the scheme is to get people prepared for full-time employment. I will be keeping a close eye on the figures. There are vacancies in many areas.

The blind pension continues to be a means-tested payment. I understand the Deputy's point. People who qualify for this payment are blind for life, which presents them with many challenges. Dealing with a specific issue can have other consequences, but I will examine the matter to see what we can do, if anything.

As for the carer's State pension, the pensions commission has recommended that people who have been caring should receive a pension. I agree with that and want to progress the proposal as part of the report on pensions.

As for the fuel allowance, the threshold has been increased on the budget week change. That is why I am looking for the extra money. The means test has also changed such that applicants can earn €120 in excess of the State pension, an increase on the previous figure of €100. That is demand-led. We cannot just say how many people will benefit because we do not know how many people will apply. Any figures we have put in would be based on people who had applied and did not qualify but would qualify now. There are, however, many others out there, I am sure, who have not applied. We would encourage people to apply for the fuel allowance and allow the calculation to be made. Some people might qualify for it even though they may think, when they do the calculations themselves, that they do not. They should just send in the application forms and we can have the calculations done.

As for the widow who applied for illness benefit, if Deputy Kerrane could give me the specific details of the case, I would be happy to follow it up and come back to her on it, if that is okay with her.

I think I have covered off everything she raised.