Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1903. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who have applied for an exceptional needs payment in each of the years 2012 to 2016 and to date in 2017; the number who have been awarded and refused this payment, respectively; the expenditure on this payment in those years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38569/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, my 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 €31.5 million for exceptional needs payments (ENPs) and urgent needs payments (UNPs) in 2017.

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 maintained relating to payments under the ENP scheme, however they are not maintained on the number of applications or the outcome of those applications. Details of the number of payments and expenditure under the ENP and UNP schemes for 2012 to 2017 are set out in the following tabular statement.

Any persons who consider that they have an entitlement to an ENP should contact my Department.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Table 1: Number of Exceptional Needs Payments and Exchequer Outturn made by year