Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 564: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if assistance is available as an exceptional needs payment or social welfare allowance to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who was seriously injured whilst abroad. [22799/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, 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 and payments are not made in retrospect in respect of expenditures that have already been undertaken. Each application is determined by the Executive based on the particular circumstances of the case.

The Mid-Western Area of the Executive has advised that the person concerned has been in contact with his local Community Welfare Officer in order to claim basic supplementary welfare allowance pending decision on his entitlement to Illness Benefit. It is open to him to discuss with his Community Welfare Officer any other immediate and current income needs he may have, including any that may be appropriately met with an Exceptional Needs Payment.