James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 826: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Longford has been refused a supplementary welfare allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30247/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the Community Welfare Service of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The purpose of mortgage interest supplement is to provide short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence.

The supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance, appropriate to their family circumstances, less a minimum contribution of €24 per week, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. When assessing entitlement to mortgage interest supplement, only the portion of mortgage interest that relates to the purchase, essential repair or improvement of a person's sole or main residence is taken into account.

The Health Service Executive has advised that it refused payment of a mortgage interest supplement to the person concerned, on the grounds that his income is sufficient to meet the interest repayments on the element of his loan which relates to his main residence. His mortgage contains other elements not linked to the purchase, repair or improvement of his residence. The Executive has further advised that a HSE Appeals Officer has upheld the decision of a Community Welfare Officer not to pay mortgage interest supplement to the person concerned. It is open to him to appeal this decision further to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.