Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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439.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if assistance is available to a family that use public transport to take their six-year-old daughter (details supplied) to and from Dublin on a regular basis due to medical issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24787/24]

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

The ANP scheme is means tested, demand led and administered by Designated Persons (DPs) in the Community Welfare Service (CWS) 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. The legislation providing for ANPs does not confer a statutory right or entitlement to a payment. The principal consideration in making a payment under the scheme is to address a particular need.

A person can apply for an ANP by completing a SWA1 form which is available in all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices. It can also be requested by calling 0818 60 70 80 and by using this link www.eforms.gov.ie/en/forms/5. A completed application form together with any supporting documentation can be returned directly to my Department where the claim will be processed quickly. Where a person has a verified MyGovID they can also apply online for an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) at www.MyWelfare.ie.

If the Deputy wishes to provide the details of the persons concerned, my officials can make contact with them to establish if an entitlement to assistance under the SWA scheme may exist.

I trust this clarifies the matter.