Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 386 of 27 November 2007, his plans to review the operation of waiting days in respect of claims with a view to either abolishing or reducing the number of days; the cost to the Exchequer if the number of waiting days were reduced by one day; the cost to the Exchequer if waiting days were abolished in their entirety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3283/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Under the legislation, a person who claims Disability/Injury Benefit or an Unemployment payment is not normally paid for the first 3 days, which are known as waiting days. Where, however, the person had a recent claim in respect of any of these schemes, payment may be made from the first day of the claim.

Waiting days have been a feature of these schemes since their inception and are a feature of similar social security schemes in many countries.

The cost of abolishing waiting days is estimated at some €36m, while the cost of reducing waiting days by one day is estimated at €12m. There would also be additional unquantifiable costs related to illnesses of three days or less duration, as well as administrative costs involved in processing claims.

I have no plans to change t he qualifying conditions at this time and any changes in the future would have to be considered in a budgetary context.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 443: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22 was entitled to a payment from the community welfare officer in one location to help pay for the costs of adapting their home for their mother for whom they care, but is no longer entitled to the same payment when they moved to a different home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3334/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE), an exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which the applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is determined by the Executive based on the particular circumstances of the case. Eligible people would normally be in receipt of a social welfare or health service executive payment.

The Dublin/Mid-Leinster Area of the Executive has advised that a final decision has not been made in relation to a request for an exceptional needs payment from the person concerned. It further advises that while a payment had been made by the community welfare office responsible for the area in which the person concerned previously lived, his current request for an exceptional needs payment is being examined as his circumstances have changed since the previous payment was awarded. The Executive will be in contact with the person concerned shortly when a decision has been made regarding his entitlement to a payment.

There are a number of grant schemes available to assist older people in carrying out repairs and improvements to their homes and to assist people with a disability with their accommodation needs. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government provide grants under the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme to improve conditions in the existing housing of older people living in unfit or unsanitary conditions. The Scheme is administered by a Task Force under the aegis of the Department of the Environment and is processed at local level by the HSE.

In addition, local authorities provide grant aid through the following schemes:

The Housing Aid for Older People Scheme to assist older people in carrying out necessary repairs or improvements to their homes.

The Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability Scheme to adapt accommodation to meet the specific needs of people with a disability.

The Mobility Aids Housing Grant Scheme to cover a basic suite of works to address mobility problems, primarily but not exclusively, associated with ageing.