John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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495. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider including qualified adult payment recipients in the Christmas bonus double payment and any such double payment in future budgets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24942/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Last September, I announced the largest Social Protection budget in the history of the State, providing over €2.2 billion in supports to people across the State. This was in recognition of the pressures facing households due to the increasing cost of living. I was also pleased to announce two "double week" bonus payments - an Autumn bonus and a Christmas bonus. For the first time in 2023, the Christmas Bonus was extended to long-term recipients of Illness Benefit.

Recipients of these bonuses include pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all, or most, of their income.

All of these double week payments included payment of a double Qualified Adult increase where one was in payment on the eligible primary recipient's claim.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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496. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a supplementary welfare allowance appeal can be awarded for a person (details supplied). [24985/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) is to assist people with essential expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their available resources. The ENP is demand led and 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. Applications for ENPs are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service.According to the records of my Department, the person’s application for an ENP was disallowed on the basis that they had already met the need from their own resources. Following a request from the person concerned, a review of the decision was undertaken, and the claim has now been re-opened. A Community Welfare Officer visited the person at their home on 19/05/2023 where they advised they had received a loan from a family member to assist with a rent deposit. The person has been asked to provide confirmation of this arrangement. The person has also been asked to provide a quote for the purchase of home heating oil. When this documentation is received, the person's claim will be assessed, and they will be advised of the outcome in writing.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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497. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is aware that separated couples who have divided responsibility for childcare across a given week are currently caught in a situation where neither party is deemed to be entitled to the working family payment, despite the children being entirely dependent on both parties; if she has plans to address this unfair anomaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24987/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Working Family Payment is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees with children who are on low earnings. It is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment.

To qualify for the Working Family Payment, the average total weekly family income must be below the relevant income threshold for the family's size.For example, the weekly income threshold for families with one child is €591 and for families with two children it is €692. The payment is calculated at 60% of the difference between the total family income and the income threshold that applies to the family.

Eligibility for the payment is not linked to receipt of a social welfare payment, but rather, a person must have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them or is part of a family wholly or mainly supported by them, and must be in employment for at least 38 hours per fortnight.

A qualified child is one under 18 years of age or a child between the ages of 18 and 22 who is attending full-time day education.

Where a relationship breaks down, If an applicant has a child living with a former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, they can claim Working Family Payment in respect of that child/children provided that they applicant is wholly or mainly maintaining the former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant.

‘Wholly or mainly maintaining’ means that the other adult does not have an income in their own right in excess of €100 per week, is not cohabiting and is not in receipt of a social welfare income support payment in their own right.

As at the end of April, the average weekly payment made to families was estimated as €158, with in excess of 46,650 families (with over 101,000 children) being in receipt of the payment.

The Department continuously reviews its services and schemes to ensure they are meeting policy objectives, while any proposed changes need also to be considered in an overall budgetary context.

If the Deputy has a particular case of interest, I would advise him to bring it to my department's attention for more specific advice.