Vol. 494 No. 5
50 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the total percentage of the overall social welfare budget which will be devoted to direct social welfare payments to asylum seekers; if he will confirm that social welfare payments will continue to be paid on the same basis to all qualifying persons and that a different system of payments will not be introduced for asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18686/98]
133 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the payments to date to asylum seekers; the number of these recipients found to be non-deserving of refugee status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18827/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 133 together.
The total cost of payments to asylum seekers in 1998 up to the end of June was approximately £9 million. It is estimated that the overall cost of social welfare payments to asylum seekers in 1998 could be of the order of £25 million. This would represent about half of 1 per cent of total social welfare spending. It is difficult to be precise as the final cost will depend on the numbers of new asylum seekers arriving during the rest of the year; the numbers of existing cases who leave the system, for example, when decisions are made on their claims for asylum; the length of stay in bed and breakfast and hostel type emergency accommodation.
The SWA scheme provides basic weekly payments, rent supplements, deposits to secure private rented accommodation and once off exceptional need payments, for example, for clothing and footwear, to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The question of whether any individual asylum seeker is entitled to refugee status is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and is not relevant to the assessment of whether he or she has the means to meet their material needs while they are in this country.
As there are no special arrangements in place to provide for the food, clothing, shelter and other basic material needs of asylum seekers, they are entitled to claim and be assessed for SWA on the basis that they have no means with which to meet their basic material needs.
The question of meeting the basic needs of asylum seekers through direct provision of food, clothing, accommodation and other basic necessities is being considered by an inter-departmental committee. In the event of systems being put in place to provide for all the material needs of asylum seekers through direct provision, then the question of SWA payments to asylum seekers would fall to be reconsidered.
In the meantime, SWA will continue in payment to the individuals concerned in accordance with the legislation.
