Ned O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 400: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will investigate the reason an allowance has been withdrawn from persons (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will arrange for the appeal to be considered. [40601/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, which is administered on behalf of the department by the Community Welfare Division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of rent supplement to eligible people whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs.

Rent supplement is 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. Many recipients pay more than €13 because 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.

The Executive has advised rent supplement has not been withdrawn from the persons concerned. They are in receipt of their full entitlement to rent supplement based on their income from jobseekers benefit and disability benefit having regard to the fact that they are required to contribute additional assessable means of €56.50 which they have over and above the basic SWA rate appropriate to their circumstances. The Executive has further advised that there is no record of an appeal from the persons concerned. It is open to the persons concerned to appeal against the decision of the community welfare officer to the Executive's designated Appeals Office.