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

We paid out €13.5 million in supplementary welfare payments between 1 January and the end of April this year. If the Deputies are aware of a case where somebody did not get support, I ask them to bring the details to me and I will raise the matter with my officials. I have raised this matter on a number of occasions and have been reassured that a community welfare officer is only one phone call away. We do not talk about an online option or anything else. Anyone who picks up the phone should get the support he or she needs. If people are not getting that service, I want to hear about their specific cases and I will deal with them individually myself. That is not what I want to see. We are here to help people and I want the State to be there to support people in times of difficulty. That is our job and I want that to happen. If any Deputy knows of a particular instance, I ask him or her to come to me and I will deal with it.

The guidelines are issued to the staff who administer the scheme. However, they do not affect the discretion available to officers in issuing exceptional or urgent needs payments to assist an individual.

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