Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

While I was not anxious to bring this social welfare case before the House, I have exhausted every available avenue to deal with a young lady's social welfare entitlement. She is an Irish citizen who took up employment in the UK. She had a young family and, as she was no longer able to work in the UK, she returned home in 2010. She applied for what she felt was her social welfare entitlement, such as child benefit and family income supplement, even though she had links with the UK but was caught by the habitual residence clause, unfairly so in my view. Her children are being deprived of their social welfare entitlements also. I know of similar cases where the social welfare entitlements were approved.

The young lady in question has appealed the decision. Will the Minister for Social Protection have this matter properly investigated even while the appeal is being heard by the Department? The young lady has furnished all the relevant information and documents, including a P45 from the UK to show she left employment there.

While her appeal is being heard, the Department has refused to give her an exceptional needs payment. The appeals system is clogged up. In 2007, some 14,000 appeals were made while this year the figure stands at 35,000. An appeal takes between six and eight months to process. I have spoken to the departmental staff involved who have been as helpful as they can be. Due to the constraints they are under from a national level, they are still unable to pay out the exceptional needs payment.

The young lady in question and her family are at breaking point. She is expected to live on nothing. Every time I speak to her she breaks down in tears because she cannot provide for her children while others who may not be Irish citizens are obtaining supplementary welfare allowance or the exceptional needs payment.

This is a genuine case but because of the bureaucracy in the system the young lady in question is denied her right of an exceptional needs payment while her appeal is processed. I hope some flexibility will be given to the local community welfare officers to pay out the exceptional needs payment for this lady while the appeal is being decided. If that cannot be done, the appeal should be decided upon in the next six days. The family in question cannot be expected to live on fresh air. Fresh air will not provide for this lady's children, pay her rent and allow her, an Irish citizen, to live in her own town.