Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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187. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of international protection applicants who have received an exceptional needs payment in the past 12 months; the expenditure by his Department on international protection applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8209/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or from other personal and household resources. Entitlement only arises where a person can demonstrate that the expenditure is essential and that they have no means of funding the expenditure themselves.

Statistics for Additional Needs Payments are prepared and published on a quarterly basis. In 2024 there were almost 28,000 Additional Needs Payments made to international protection applicants, who were in receipt of a Daily Expenses Allowance claim, at a cost of €4.59 million.

My department also administers the Daily Expenses Allowance, which is paid to international protection applicants who reside in, or are waiting for, accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Services. In 2024 there was expenditure of €60.2 million on the Daily Expenses Allowance.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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188. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average processing time, by payment, in tabular form. [8228/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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195. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the measures he is taking to reduce application waiting times for social welfare payments. [8360/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 195 together.

The Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing eligibility criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of health-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested schemes can also require more detailed investigations and interaction with the customer, thereby lengthening the decision-making process.

The Department continually strives to process applications within or below the target processing times set for each scheme.

To enable the Department to make timely and fair decisions on applications, applicants should ensure that they complete the application form fully and attach all the supporting documentation required as per the checklist provided on the application form. It is particularly important that an applicant provides, at the outset, all the relevant details to best support their claim. This will eliminate the requirement for a Deciding Officer to have to revert to an applicant for clarifications or missing information.

Significant efforts and resources have been devoted to provide timely service at all improving times and i am pleased to say most schemes are better than or within there targets. The desire to process applications quickly has to be balanced with ensuring decisions are consistent and of high quality and made in accordance with the legislative provisions.

The table below shows the average processing times at the end of January 2025.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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189. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of additional needs payments and the number disallowed in 2019 and in 2024, by category, in tabular form. [8229/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income.

The reporting of the scheme was revised in 2022 to extract more complete information. Statistics on the number of disallowed claims are not available for 2019.

Table 1 shows the number of Additional Needs Payments registered, awarded and disallowed by category in 2022 and 2024. The figures do not reflect the number of claims that have been withdrawn, cancelled or are awaiting further information.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Tabular Statement

Table 1 – Number of Additional Needs Payments registered, awarded and disallowed by category in 2022 and 2024.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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190. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the mean and maximum waiting times for additional needs payment, by county, in tabular form. [8230/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments (ANPs) to help meet expenses that an eligible person cannot pay from their weekly income. The ANP scheme is 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.My Department does not collate data in relation to mean and maximum waiting times for ANPs by county. However, on a national level there is no delay in processing ANPs and work on hand is within the scheme's normal processing levels. Fully completed applications, where the required documentation is supplied, are processed within ten days. 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 and CWOs have the facility to issue same-day manual cheque payments where it is deemed necessary.

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.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.