Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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384. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when an exceptional needs’ payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60998/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in my Department.

The purpose of the ENP is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which cannot be met from any other source and which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.

The ENP is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the SWA 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.

According to the records of my Department, the person concerned applied for an ENP for assistance with the cost of car repairs.  The claim was disallowed on the basis that no exceptional/urgent need had been established as the need had already been met.  A decision letter issued to the person advising her of the outcome of the application and affording her the option of seeking a review of the Designated Person’s decision.

Determinations made in relation to claims made under Sections 200, 201 and 202 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation Act) 2005, namely allowances-in-kind, ENPs and UNPs, can be reviewed by a SWA Reviewing Officer under Section 323 of that Act.

Following a request, a review of the decision was undertaken.  The SWA Review Officer, having examined the claim was unable to find any grounds to overturn the decision of the Designated Person and so the original decision was upheld.  A letter issued to the person concerned on 01/12/2022 advising her of the outcome of the review.

The Review Officer noted on the person’s review submission that a loan had been taken out in August 2022 to specifically meet the need.  In the correspondence issued, the person has been asked to revert to the SWA Review Officer with evidence of the loan and certain bank statements not provided with the ENP application.  On receipt of this information, the SWA Review Officer will undertake a further review of the claim and the person will be advised of the outcome in writing.

I trust this clarifies the matter.