Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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258. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average wait time for an urgent needs payment in Longford and Westmeath. [45795/24]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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259. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average wait time for a supplementary welfare allowance in Longford and Westmeath. [45796/24]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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261. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of community welfare officers employed in Longford and Westmeath in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [45798/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 258, 259 and 261 together.

There is a range of supports provided by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme. These supports 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 basic SWA provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment or do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. Under the SWA scheme, my Department may also make an ANP to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. An ANP is an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) and Urgent Needs Payments (UNPs), and certain Supplements available 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 SWA scheme is demand led and payments are administered by Designated Persons (DPs) in the CWS.

The current average time to award a basic SWA, including in both Longford and Westmeath is one week. Work on hand for ANPs, including in Longford and Westmeath is within the scheme's normal processing levels and fully completed applications, where the required documentation is supplied, are processed generally within ten days.

When considering an application from people in financial difficulty for any payment under the SWA scheme, the DP must consider all of the relevant circumstances when examining a case in determining the most appropriate scheme type and level of assistance required. The DP may ask for a number of supporting documents to ensure the customer receives a level of payment appropriate to their needs. 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. The 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.

There are currently 14 staff in total engaged in the delivery of CWS in Counties Longford and Westmeath. The number of CWOs in 2023 and 2022 are also displayed in the table below.

Given the fluctuation in demand for the Community Welfare Service, particularly during the pandemic when resources were allocated to areas where they were most needed, staffing numbers within locations changed frequently. Therefore, it is not possible to provide accurate information relating to number of CWOs for prior years.

I trust this clarifies the matter.