Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under the social welfare system, homeless people have entitlements to the full range of social welfare schemes, including supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, subject to the normal qualifying conditions. The SWA can be paid while a person is awaiting the decision on another payment, for example, disability allowance or jobseeker's allowance. People who are unable to provide evidence of address can access the basic SWA during the period when they engage with homeless services and seek to stabilise their situation.

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In Dublin, where the homelessness situation is probably at its most acute, there are arrangements in place that focus on maintaining individuals on their primary weekly social welfare payments for a period. This gives them some flexibility while they are seeking to regularise their accommodation arrangements. This approach means they maintain access to the other services that are made available by the Department, including activation programmes, CE schemes and the Tús initiative.

People experiencing homelessness who have queries about their entitlement to weekly social welfare payments should contact the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection through their local Intreo offices, where they will receive the same level of care and assistance that we hope to provide to everyone who presents at our local offices.

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