Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1181. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason changes were made to the guidelines on exceptional needs payments whereby the legislation refers to exceptional need while her Department focuses on a need which is exceptional but also unforeseen; if the latter condition is mentioned in primary legislation or statutory instruments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45734/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1278. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which community welfare services are readily available to meet the needs of those in society that may ordinarily have had no reason to call on the social services but that may due to circumstances outside their control have to rely on exceptional needs payments in order to get by in a crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47111/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1282. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if provision will be made whereby emergency payments are made available in cases of extreme hardship by way of an exceptional needs payment or otherwise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47115/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1290. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for exceptional needs payments received by her Department in each of the past 12 months to date in 2017; the number approved, refused and pending, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47123/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1181, 1278, 1282 and 1290 together.

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 €31.5 million for exceptional and urgent needs payments in 2017.

The ENP scheme is demand led and provides assistance to those with exceptional needs 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.

ENPs are provided for in Section 201 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, as amended, which states that “a designated person or deciding officer may, in any case where the designated person or deciding officer considers it reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, so to do, determine or decide that supplementary welfare allowance shall be paid to a person by way of a single payment to meet an exceptional need.”

The legislation does not confer a statutory right or entitlement to ENPs. The principle consideration in making a payment under the ENP scheme is to address a particular once-off and exceptional need which is not of an expected or recurring nature and is therefore unforeseen.

The guidelines issued to staff administering the scheme assist them in the decision making process. However, they do not affect the discretion available to officers in issuing an ENP to assist an individual or household in any particular hardship situation which may arise. Any person who considers that they have an entitlement to an ENP should contact my Department.

The Deputies will be aware that my Department has re-engineered its business model to support the provision of integrated services across all business streams involved in the delivery of localised services. As part of this strategy, the Department is engaged in the delivery of integrated Intreo centres, which provide a full range of services, including the Community Welfare Service (CWS), generally available in one location.

People claiming supports under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme generally only interact with the Department on an occasional basis, for example, when seeking an exceptional needs payment or in claiming additional supports such as rent supplement, which are usually reviewed once to twice yearly. The availability of the CWS during normal office hours is therefore sufficient for general day to day requirements. In the event of emergency situations such as that in response to severe flooding, emergency clinics are established as required.

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. The number of ENPs made on a monthly basis in each of the past twelve months to date is contained in the attached tabular statement. For reporting purposes this data includes numbers of urgent needs payments (UNP). A UNP is a once-off payment made to persons who would not normally qualify for SWA but who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources or an alternative is not available at that time.

I can assure the Deputies that the ENP scheme is kept under review to ensure that it continues to support those most in need of assistance. I trust this clarifies the matter.

Tabular Statement

Number of Exceptional Needs Payments and Urgent Needs Payments in each month for the past twelve months to date: