Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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353. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of claimants who obtain a payment from Community Welfare Officers due to lack of PRSI contributions who are ineligible to claim for illness benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49414/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme provides a "safety net" within the overall social welfare system and provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.

There are currently over 3,700 clients who have been awarded a weekly SWA payment on the basis that they are ill and are ineligible to claim other social welfare illness related payments. Statistics are not maintained in respect of those customers ineligible for illness benefit due to insufficient PRSI contributions.