Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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122. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department will carry out a review on the length of time it currently takes to review and receive supplementary welfare allowance. [19645/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Community Welfare Service (CWS) delivers the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme which is the safety net within the overall social welfare system. This scheme helps eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as single Additional Needs Payments (ANPs).

The CWS is committed to providing a quality service to all citizens, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made quickly. The current average time to award a basic SWA is one week and 75% of all applications for ANPs are finalised within four weeks.

Where an application cannot be finalised promptly, the delay is normally due to the need for additional information or documentation and the time it takes for the information to be provided. Upon receipt of this information, the application is then processed quickly.

It is important to note that 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.

A lot of effort and resources have been applied to the CWS to ensure that it is a responsive and accessible service for people. I wish to reassure the Deputy that claim processing is kept under active review.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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123. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an application for carer's allowance will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19668/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that, as a result, they require that level of care.

My Department received an application for Carer's Allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 22 February 2023.

As the person concerned has various sources of self-employed income, the matter was referred to a local Social Welfare Inspector on 3 March 2023 to assess all means and to confirm that all the conditions for the receipt of CA are satisfied.

The Social Welfare Inspector requested the person concerned to submit a number of documents. One of these documents remains outstanding. The Social Welfare Inspector contacted the person concerned by phone on 20 April 2023 and the person confirmed that they had posted the document that day.

Once this document has been received and the Social Welfare Inspector has completed their report, a decision will be made at the earliest possible date and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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124. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on an application for a disability allowance for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19669/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

My Department received an application for DA in respect of the person concerned on 22 February 2023. The processing time for individual DA claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.

A letter requesting information to assist with the person's application was sent to them on 15 March 2023. This information was required to determine eligibility for DA. To date, my Department has not received the requested information.

My Department has discussed the matter and the requirement for the information that was missing from the application with the person's mother. This missing information consists of details of his preferred payment method, a signed Part11a of the DA Medical application and a completed agent form. It is understood that this information will be forwarded to my Department soon.

On receipt of this information, a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome without delay.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance is a means-tested social assistance scheme, which is also subject to a medical assessment and habitual residency requirement.

Where a person makes an application for Disability Allowance, the means assessment includes income from employment or self-employment, income from a social security pension from another country and maintenance payments. If a claimant is married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, the means of the couple will be assessed.

In the assessment of capital means, savings, investments, shares and property are included. The first €50,000 of capital and savings is fully disregarded, the next €10,000 is assessed at €1 per thousand, the following €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand. These disregards are the highest among social welfare schemes.

Where a person inherits a house and they are resident there, it is not included in the assessment of means, unless the person receives an income from it.

Means is assessed on a household basis and as such must be reassessed if a person’s living circumstances change.

I hope this information is of assistance to the Deputy.