Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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493. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current turnaround for exceptional needs payments to be processed by area; the reason exceptional needs payment applications are taking ten weeks to process; the urgent efforts that are being taken to reduce this waiting list, particularly as the very purpose of the exceptional needs payment is to meet a short-term urgent need where someone requires emergency or urgent assistance; the avenues that are available to them to have their application processed urgently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4317/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Community Welfare Service (CWS) is committed to providing a quality service to all citizens, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

The vast majority of complete applications are finalised within 2 weeks and there is less than 2 weeks work on hands currently.  Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) applications are varied and often quite complex, reflecting the individual circumstances being experienced. 

Where it is clear that a person has an urgent or immediate need, every effort is made to ensure that the claim is processed on the same day.  Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are very experienced and can generally assess when a case is so urgent that it requires an immediate response.  Approximately 10% of 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.

Where an application cannot be finalised promptly, the delay is normally due to additional information or documentation being requested from the person to support their application and the length of time that it takes for the information to be provided.  This can result in longer processing times for these applications as greater flexibility is given to clients with extended time to respond.  Upon receipt of this information, the application is then processed quickly. 

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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494. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the payment method for receiving a jobseeker’s allowance by a person (details supplied) can remain in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4328/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The decision was taken following the lifting of Public Health Restrictions in 2022 to return to paying Jobseeker payments through the Post Office Network.  

Payments to the Post office is one of the measures in terms of preventing fraud as it necessitates the claimant attending in person.  Measures to combat fraud are regularly reviewed and updated by the Department.

The Person Concerned has been receiving payment to their Bank Account since April 2020 due to the Pandemic.  In line with the policy of returning to Post Office payments the person's payment method will revert to the post office.  The person concerned is not in any category that would be outside the parameters for returning payment to the post office.  There is an option for the person concerned to change their post office location to one that may be more suitable to them either online or by calling to their local Intreo Office.