Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Exceptional Needs Payments are provided for in legislation in Section 201 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.
An application can be made under the ENP scheme for assistance with funeral and burial expenses. However, there is no automatic entitlement to an ENP payment. The assistance is toward the costs of the necessary basic requirements for a dignified funeral where there is an inability to pay the costs, in part or in full, by the family of the deceased person without causing hardship.
Scheme guidance sets out that during the assessment of a case requesting assistance with funeral assistance, the Designated Person will establish the circumstances of the following:
- The person applying for assistance
- The circumstances of that person’s household
- The circumstances of the deceased
- The ability of other members of the family to meet, or contribute to, the cost involved
In determining an entitlement to an ENP for funeral expenses the Designated Person will take into account the circumstances of the individual applicant and that of the deceased person including any savings, property, insurance policies etc. The Designated Person will also consider if a bereavement grant is available from any other source including former employer, credit union, trade union etc.
On 1st April 2015 the person concerned applied for an ENP towards the cost of funeral expenses. In such cases, a supplementary form (SWA5) must also be completed in addition to the application form in which details of the deceased person’s family are required, in order that a proper appraisal of the family’s ability to cope with the funeral costs can be carried out. The person concerned was requested to provide details in this regard, as required by the operational guidelines outlined above.
When the application was received and examined it was discovered that the funeral bill had already been paid in full and the need for an ENP no longer existed; her application therefore could not be approved. Written notification of this decision was sent to the person concerned on 16th April 2015.
