Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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224. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the degree to which a hardship clause has been invoked in the course of dealing with various circumstances in which persons found themselves in serious financial difficulty on a monthly basis over the course of the past year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2380/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is considered the "safety net" within the overall social welfare system in that it 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.

Under the SWA scheme, my Department may award a basic weekly payment and/or a supplement to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. In addition, the Department can make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Details of the numbers of recipients of payments under the SWA scheme in December 2016 and 2017 are set out in the following tabular statement.

Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to a payment under the SWA scheme should contact my Department’s Community Welfare Service at their local Intreo centre.

If the Deputy has concerns in relation to a particular case, he should bring the details to the attention of my Department.

Tabular Statement

Recipients of SWA schemes at end 2016 and 2017