Michael Ring
Question:1024 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the funding provided from her Department towards the landslide in north Mayo. [1368/04]
View answerTuesday, 27 January 2004
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As stated in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 305, which I answered on 17 December 2003, the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered by the health boards on behalf of my Department, allows a health board to make a single payment, known as an exceptional needs payment, to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her weekly income.
The Western Health Board has advised that some 35 exceptional needs payments were issued to families affected by the landslide. The board has confirmed also that every family in the affected area was visited and that all applications for assistance were approved.