Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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913. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the breakdown by county for supplementary welfare allowance applications in 2021; the number of applications awarded; the number refused; the total amount paid out; and the reasons given for the payments by county. [1122/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, 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.  Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as single exceptional needs payments (ENPs) and urgent needs payments (UNPs). 

The basic supplementary welfare allowance provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment or do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. 

Rent supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.  The scheme ensures that for those who were renting, but whose circumstances have changed due to temporary loss of employment, can continue to meet their rental commitments.

Under the SWA scheme, a supplement can be awarded 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, officers 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.  Decisions on ENPs and SWA supplements 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.

Statistics are maintained on the number of applications awarded under the SWA scheme.  They are not maintained on the number of applications refused.

Table 1 shows the number of Basic SWA and supplement recipients by county, at year end 2021.

Table 2 shows the number of ENPs and UNPs paid by county for 2021.

Table 3 shows the number of ENPs and UNPs paid by category for 2021.

Table 4 shows the provisional expenditure by SWA scheme for 2021.  A breakdown by county in not available.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Tabular Statement

Table 1 - Basic SWA and supplement recipients by county at year end 2021

Table 2 - Number of ENPs and UNPs paid by county for 2021

Table 3 - Number of ENPs and UNPs paid by category for 2021

Table 4 - Provisional Expenditure by SWA Scheme 2021

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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914. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of primary school students in receipt of the hot meals programme in Cork city and county and nationally, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1158/22]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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915. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of secondary school students in receipt of the hot meals programme in Cork city and county and nationally, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1159/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 914 and 915 together.

The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children.  The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them.  The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.

A budget of €65.1 million was provided for the scheme in 2021.

As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020.  The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 students for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities.  

Budget 2021 provided an additional €5.5m to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option.  Invitations for expressions of interest were issued to 705 primary schools (612 DEIS and 93 non-DEIS) in November 2020.  A total of 281 (256 DEIS and 25 non-DEIS) expressions of interest were received in respect of 52,148 children.

The 35,000 places were allocated to each local authority area based on the number of children applied by local authority as a percentage of the total number.  A minimum of one school for each Local Authority area was selected.  Thereafter, a process of random selection was used for each area.

Budget 2022 is providing for the hot school meals to be extended from January 2022 to the 81 DEIS schools that submitted an expression of interest but were not selected in the extension to 35,000 children referred to earlier.

The number of primary school students in receipt of hot school meals in Cork City, Cork County and nationally respectively is:

- Cork City - 2,559,

- Cork County  -257, and chool meals prior to the end of the 2020/2021 academic year).

There are no secondary school students in re

- Nationally - 38,007 (This includes children from the additional 35,000 announced in Budget 2021, where the school was in a position to commence the provision of hot sceipt of the hot school meals option as it is aimed at primary schools with no onsite cooking facilities.  

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.