Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 October 2021
21. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Social Protection the supports that are currently available to families with children in hospital; if consideration has been given to placing a social welfare officer on site at children’s hospitals to provide necessary information on exceptional needs payments and carer’s allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48266/21]
View answerI am very aware of the pressures, financial and otherwise, that having a child in hospital can place on parents. As the two main hospitals that treat children are based in the Dublin area, this often involves parents having to travel distances and to stay close to the hospital concerned. My Department provides supports that can be accessed where a need arises as a result of a child being hospitalised.
Where a domiciliary care allowance is in payment this continues to be paid for up to 13 weeks following the hospitalisation of a child. Similarly, if carers allowance is in payment this payment continues for up to 13 weeks following the hospitalisation.
In all other cases, application can be made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme as this scheme is intended to provide assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Under the SWA scheme, the Department may award a supplement to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and which are deemed to be necessary.
In addition, an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) is a single payment to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. For example, the payment can be for costs such as travel, necessary temporary accommodation while a family member is in hospital and clothing or other hospital requirements.
Social workers who are based in the hospitals are well briefed on these schemes and are in a position to contact staff of my Department for assistance where this is required. As a result, I do not believe there is a need to base staff of my Department in the hospitals concerned.
My Department is committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services that are available to them. To that end detailed information on each scheme and service is published on gov.ie. A list of all DSP schemes and services can be found at www.gov.ie/dspschemes and this page provides a link to the dedicated web page for each individual scheme including the Exceptional Needs Payment and Carer’s Allowance.
