Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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882. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an exceptional needs payment has now issued in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30781/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Further to Parliamentary Questions 23070-18 and 27349-18, the person concerned spoke with a designated officer of the Department where it was established that she was seeking financial assistance with her rent payment. An exceptional needs payment is a single payment provided to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, where it is established that a person cannot reasonably be expected to meet the expense out of their weekly income. It is not intended for habitual, regular, ongoing household expenses. The person concerned was advised that she should contact the Rents Unit as she required financial assistance with her rent payment and her need was more appropriate to that business area. She was given the contact details for the South Kildare/West Wicklow Rents Unit and her documents were forwarded to the Rents Unit. To date, the person concerned has not made contact with the Rents Unit.

As the Deputy has indicated in his representations that the person concerned is homeless, it is not possible therefore for the Rents Unit to issue an application form/information pack for Rent Supplement as a current address cannot be verified.

It is open to the person concerned to contact the Rents Unit and submit an application for a Rent Supplement payment. She should include all relevant documentation in support of her application.

The contact details for the Rents Unit for South Kildare/West Wicklow are as follows:

Telephone: 01 6732155 (9.30am-12.30pm)

Post: South Kildare/West Wicklow Rents Unit, PO Box 1107, Newbridge, Co Kildare

Email: RentsKildareSouth@welfare.ie.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.