Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Department of Social Protection may make single payments to help meet once off and exceptional essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to cover out of his or her weekly income. The Department spent approximately €63 million on these payments last year and made payments to 226,000 individual claimants. Budget 2012 requires savings of €8.5 million in this area. The exceptional needs payment has been in operation for some time and the guidelines covering its application have not been reviewed since 1995. The Minister, Deputy Burton, is changing the guidelines to reflect the current realities.

Among the changes she is making is the way in which exceptional needs payments are applied in different parts of the country. Exceptional needs payments made in some parts of the country do not apply elsewhere. One example which was highlighted in some of today's newspapers relates to payments made for communions and confirmations. Last year, 14,000 payments were made for communions and confirmations, amounting to a total of €3.4 million. The Minister's view, which I share, is that lavish expenditure has in some cases been associated with communions and confirmations. I am aware that many parishes and schools are anxious to get the costs associated with these events somewhat under control. As a result of that, she has decided to limit these payments to €110 in each case as part of the changes she is making to the guidelines. I hope that will help to limit the amount of expenditure in this area.

The application of these payments varies in parts of the country. In Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal, for example, only 25 payments were made last year in respect of communions and confirmations.

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