Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 453: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14999/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Under standard supplementary welfare allowance rules rent supplements are normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to their family circumstances less a minimum contribution, currently €13, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Recipients are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate, towards their accommodation costs.

Prior to Budget 2006, the person concerned had an income of €186.20 per week after the payment of her rent. Following the application of the budget increases and the increase in her income, arising from the award of one parent family payment, the amount of rent supplement fell but the person concerned has an income of €203.20 per week after the payment of her rent, an overall net increase of €17 per week.

In my reply to a previous question from the Deputy on 30 March 2006, I informed him that the Health Service Executive was satisfied that the correct amount of rent supplement was paid in this case. The executive has advised that an appeal concerning the rate of rent supplement awarded was received from the person concerned on 21 March 2006. The executive has further advised that the executive's appeals officer has upheld the decision of the executive. Where a person is not satisfied with the decision of the executives appeals officer, the person may appeal this decision to the independent social welfare appeals office.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 454: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the correct rent support payable in the case of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 1; if they have been refused allowance in one community care area but qualify in another; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15003/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in decisions on individual claims.

The Health Service Executive has advised that the person concerned was in receipt of rent supplement as a single person. Following her marriage in February 2006, she changed address and applied for rent supplement in respect of herself and her partner. Her partner is an asylum seeker who was housed in direct provision accommodation provided by the reception and integration agency.

The application for rent supplement was refused on the basis that the rent level was in excess of the limits for a single person. The executive advised that the person concerned was assessed as a single person as the accommodation needs of her partner were and should continue to be met by the reception and integration agency until such time as his claim for asylum has been decided.

The executive has further advised that an appeal concerning the rent supplement has been received from the person concerned. A decision on the appeal will be made in due course and the person concerned will be notified of the position.

It remains open to such a family wishing to live together, including people with permission to remain in the State, to apply to the reception and integration agency of Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to be accommodated within the direct provision system.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 455: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to a previous parliamentary question if he will expedite a response to an appeal for financial assistance or exceptional needs payment in the name of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [15044/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Health Service Executive may make a single payment, known as an exceptional needs payment, ENP, to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her weekly income. Eligible people would normally be in receipt of a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment.

Exceptional needs payments are not issued in individual cases on an ongoing basis. They are issued at the discretion of the Health Service Executive and neither I nor my Department has any function in deciding entitlement in individual cases.

The south-eastern area of the Health Service Executive has advised that the person concerned was paid an exceptional needs payment of €130 to replace clothes and furniture that were damaged following an accident in his home. The person concerned has appealed this decision regarding the amount of the exceptional needs payment. A decision on the appeal will be made shortly and the person concerned will be informed of the outcome.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 456: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that people on FÁS courses, workplace schemes, community employment schemes and part-time job incentives do not currently qualify for the family income supplement; the reason for same; and his plans to change the anomaly. [15046/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The family income supplement, FIS, is designed to provide cash support for employees on low earnings with families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were unemployed and claiming other social welfare payments. FIS is paid on a weekly basis over a period of 52 weeks, taking into account a family's net earnings and the number of children under 18 or aged between 18 and 22 years and in full time education.

CE and FÁS training courses are publicly funded employment and training programmes with the specific objective of progressing the long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people from social welfare dependency towards employment in the open labour market. The workplace scheme, which has now been phased out, enabled participants to gain workplace experience while retaining full social welfare payments.

As the part-time job incentive scheme applies to people working up to 24 hours, participants may transfer to FIS where the FIS qualifying conditions are met. FIS is designed to encourage people to take up or remain in full-time work in the open labour market in circumstances where dependency on social welfare alone may otherwise appear attractive. Extension of entitlement to people engaged in FÁS training programmes, community employment or similar schemes would not be consistent with these policy objectives.