Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 288: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the payments that are considered non-primary social welfare payments by her. [37527/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The term "primary social welfare payments" refers to payments that are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance has the lowest maximum personal primary payment rate in the social welfare system, currently €186.00 per week. The maximum personal rate in other schemes ranges from €188.00 to €239.00. These payments include weekly paid income support schemes such as state pensions, jobseeker's payments, illness, and disability and caring payments.

Some 1.4 million people receive a primary weekly social welfare payment. When qualified adults and qualified children are included, almost 2.1 million people benefit from these weekly payments.

The Department pays out a range of other payments on a weekly or less frequent basis. These are paid in addition to the primary income support payments mentioned above at levels that are below the lowest maximum personal payment rate. Accordingly, those payments are considered secondary, or non-primary, in nature.