Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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191. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection why her Department refused to grant a supplementary welfare allowancea to a person (details supplied) for the purpose of clothing and has requested the person to obtain medical letters in respect of the claim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37583/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The operating guidelines for emergency needs payments state that the emergency need has to be exceptional and unforeseen and should not be a recurring payment.

The person named applied for a supplementary welfare allowance payment towards clothing on 5 November 2014. This application was refused because the applicant did not provide any evidence of an exceptional need. The person concerned was informed of and afforded the right to a review of this decision. The original decision of the designated person was upheld on review.

The applicant was offered the opportunity to provide medical evidence to support his application in 2014. The medical documentation supplied did not provide any evidence that the client had an exceptional need for this payment.