Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

246. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current position in regard to a request and subsequent review of entitlement to an exceptional needs payment in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42335/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. The ANP scheme is means tested and administered by Designated Persons (DPs) in the Community Welfare Service, 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. Guaranteed payment of an ANP cannot be taken as an automatic entitlement.

According to the records of the Department, the persons concerned applied for an ANP to assist with the cost of furnishing their new home. This claim was disallowed on the basis that the persons had sufficient means available to them in the form of savings to cover the expenses from their own resources. A letter advising the persons concerned of this outcome and affording them the opportunity to seek a review of the decision issued to them on 14/09/2024.

Determinations made in relation to claims made under Sections 200, 201 and 202 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation Act) 2005, namely allowances-in-kind, Exceptional Needs Payments and Urgent Needs Payments, can be reviewed by a SWA Reviewing Officer under Section 323 of that Act.

Following your Parliamentary Question, a SWA Reviewing Officer reviewed the claim and considering the circumstances of the case, upheld the original decision made by the DP, on the basis that at the date of their application, the persons concerned had sufficient means available to them to cover the expenses from their own resources. Correspondence issued to the persons concerned on 10/10/2024 advising them of the outcome of the review.

If the person concerned feels that they have been treated unfairly, they have the right of recourse to contact The Office of the Ombudsman, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773, Telephone number: 01-639 5600 / 1890 22 30 30, Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie.