Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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235. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to any scheme or funding available to assist a family whose home has been extensively damaged by fire and requires substantial restoration work, who are unable to fund this work and who do not have house insurance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54012/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Community Welfare Service of my Department can make income support payments to those in need and make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. An additional needs payment is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Payments 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 in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

In general, additional needs payments are not intended to cover circumstances where responsibility rests with another Government Department or Agency. In the aftermath of an event such as a house fire, the Local Authority is the lead agency with responsibility for the provision of alternative accommodation if a housing need exists, while many Local Authorities provide loans to owner-occupiers towards the cost of necessary works to repair their homes.

An additional needs payment can be made to help meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Where damage has been caused to the basic essential contents following a house fire, assistance may be provided under the additional needs payment with the replacement of items such as carpets, flooring, furniture, household appliances and bedding.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to a payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.