Written answers

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Department of Social Protection

Exceptional Needs Payment Data

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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44. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for exceptional needs payments excluding ENP5 applications by county for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014; the number of those applications that were refused by county in each of the aforementioned years; the number of those refusals that were successful both on review and on appeal by county in those years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49660/14]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan 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 and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Government has provided €27.9m for exceptional and urgent needs payments in 2015.

There is no automatic entitlement to a payment. The ENP scheme is demand led and payments are made 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.

Statistics are not maintained by county on the number of applications for ENPs or the outcome of those applications. Detail of the number of payments under the ENP scheme for the years 2010 to 2014 is set out in the following tabular statement. A breakdown by county is not available for the period from 2010 to 2012 but is provided for 2013 and 2014. As requested, these statistics exclude ENP5 code payments which relate to back to school clothing and footwear allowance payments.

ENP cases are reviewed by review officers within the community welfare service. Statistics are not maintained regarding the number of reviews undertaken or their outcome.

Tabular Statement

Number of Exceptional Needs Payments made by year excluding ENP5 payments

YearNumber of Payments


2010


218,000


2011


226,200


2012


196,837


2013


132,629


2014


107,307




Number of Exceptional Needs Payments by County for 2013 and 2014 excluding ENP5 payments
County

2013


2014


Carlow


1,882


1,247


Cavan


1,052


788


Clare


1,841


1,602


Cork


10,290


9,709


Donegal


1,767


1,533


Dublin


59,901


46,609


Galway


3,989


2,648


Kerry


2,366


2,049


Kildare


6,584


4,377


Kilkenny


2,615


2,144


Laois


2,645


3,401


Leitrim


733


817


Limerick


4,856


4,339


Longford


1,020


1,102


Louth


1,702


1,505


Mayo


2,807


1,673


Meath


4,051


3,129


Monaghan


591


571


Offaly


1,217


1,268


Roscommon


1,502


845


Sligo


1,794


1,499


Tipperary


7,081


5,757


Waterford


2,409


2,581


Westmeath


2,123


2,251


Wexford


2,191


1,313


Wicklow


3,620


2,550


Total


132,629


107,307

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