Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Government has provided over €47 million for the scheme in 2013. Exceptional needs payment are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure the payments target those most in need of assistance. There is no automatic entitlement to a payment or predetermined amounts under the different categories for exceptional needs payments.

Weekly social welfare payments should cover normal clothing needs. However, in exceptional circumstances support is available for clothing under the exceptional needs schemes. The Department has recently issued recommendations to officers administering the scheme including guidance amounts for payments in respect of child and adult clothing. For 2013, the Department has recommended that only in unforeseen and exceptional circumstances should the payment of an allowance in respect of clothing be made and has recommended a maximum payment of €100 for adult clothing and €50 in respect of child clothing. The January 2013 consumer price index indicates that the overall cost of clothing and footwear has fallen by over 36% in the last number of years.

Persons who consider they have an entitlement to a special needs payment should contact the local social welfare officers administering the scheme.

I have set out a table that shows the total amount spent in the past two years on adult and child clothing, religious ceremonies, prams, buggies and cots. The table may be helpful to the Deputy. It also shows the average payments.

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