Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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981. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a weekly court ordered maintenance payment received by a person from a former spouse is regarded as means for the purposes of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7817/20]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is 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 means test for the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme requires that all types of household income, include maintenance payments, must be taken into account in determining a person's entitlement under the scheme.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.