Written answers
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Department of Social Protection
Exceptional Needs Payment Eligibility
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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507. To ask the Minister for Social Protection where a person is not able to meet the maximum charge per month for the medical card prescription charge of €25 as announced in budget 2014, if it is possible for a person to make an application for an exceptional needs payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46179/13]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. It is expected that the expenditure on the ENP scheme in 2013 will be in excess of €35 million.
There is no automatic entitlement to a payment. ENP’s are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.
The ENP scheme is not intended to cover circumstances where responsibility rests with another Government Department or Agency such as assistance towards prescription charges. Responsibility for prescription charges is a matter for the Health Service Executive.
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