John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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497. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the qualification mechanism for the living alone allowance; her proposals to allow single persons to claim this allowance or part thereof such as in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7715/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition, my Department also provides a range of other payments, both cash and non-cash, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature.

The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is one of those secondary payments. It is not a scheme or a stand-alone payment in itself, but rather it is a supplement to a social welfare payment of €22 per week made to people aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. For those aged 66 or over, these payments include State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Widow's/Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme, Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme and Deserted Wife's Benefit.

Accordingly, there are no circumstances where the Living Alone Increase can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department. Any decision to allow those who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment to receive the Living Alone Increase - and thereby establish it as a scheme in its own right - would have budgetary and administrative consequences and would have to be considered in the context of overall Budget negotiations.

As the person in question is not in receipt of a qualifying payment as detailed above, they are not eligible to receive the additional Living Alone Allowance.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet from their own resources. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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498. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a social welfare payment will issue to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7742/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department received an application for Illness Benefit from the person concerned on the 30th November 2021.

In order to qualify for a payment under the terms of the Illness Benefit scheme, a person must have paid a prescribed number of reckonable PRSI contributions in the relevant tax years prior to their claim. The person concerned has been paying class S contributions, paid by those who are self employed, in the relevant tax years. Class S contributions are not considered reckonable contributions for Illness Benefit and as such the person concerned does not satisfy the conditions for an Illness Benefit payment.

If the person concerned feels that he is permanently incapable of attending work or expects to be unable to do so for at least a further year, it is open to him to make an application for the long-term illness schemes of Invalidity Pension or Disability Allowance.

If the person concerned is experiencing difficulties meeting his financial commitments he should contact the Department's representative, formerly known as a Community Welfare Officer, at his local Intreo Centre so that an assessment of his circumstances can be carried out to determine whether he might qualify for assistance under the terms of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.