Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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176. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average wait time for an urgent needs' payment in Cork city. [62667/22]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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178. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in Cork city who have availed of an urgent needs' payment in Q4 of 2022 and the same period in each of the years 2019 to 2021, in tabular form. [62669/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 176 and 178 together.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department can make Additional Needs Payments (ANPs) to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional Needs Payment (ENPs) and Urgent Needs Payments (UNPs), and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources, and which are deemed to be necessary.

The scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the schemes 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.

If an application is urgent, every effort is made to ensure the person receives a payment on the same day. Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are very experienced and can generally assess when a case is so urgent as to require an immediate response. Approximately 9% of Community Welfare Services (CWS) payments to customers across the country are made on this basis, which shows just how responsive the service is to an urgent customer need.

The following is a table of UNPs awarded in Cork in Q4 in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Information for Q4 2022 is not yet available:

I trust this clarifies the matter.