Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 337: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will issue guidelines to the Health Service Executive which would allow community welfare officers pay an exceptional needs payment to applicants who require extra heating due to illness; the guidelines issued by him to date in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40070/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Under the terms of supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a recipient of a social welfare or Health Services Executive payment who has exceptional heating costs due to ill health, infirmity or a medical condition which he/she is unable to meet out of household income can apply to the local community welfare officer for a special heating supplement. In addition, legislation also provides for a single payment — known as an exceptional needs payment — to be made to help meet essential, once-off exceptional expenditure.

Provision for the payment of exceptional needs payments and special heating supplements is made in the primary legislation and regulations governing the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The legislative provisions allow the community welfare service to pay a heating supplement or an exceptional needs payment where they determine that such a payment is warranted on the basis of all the circumstances in a particular case. The community welfare service in all areas of the country deals with exceptional needs payments and heating supplements on a regular basis. Guidelines on these schemes are available on the Department's website. The guidelines for exceptional needs payments and heating supplements were last updated in June 2006.