Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 April 2022
319. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps her Department is taking to streamline the process for persons needing to access an exceptional needs payment to make it more accessible and reduce the administrative burden on persons in view of rising energy costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18937/22]
View answerMy Department provides a range of schemes to assist low-income households with energy costs. These include regular payments like the Fuel Allowance, the Electricity or Gas Allowance available under the Household Benefits scheme and discretionary payments made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.
The purpose of the Exceptional Needs Payments (ENP) is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
The ENP scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme 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.
Applications for ENPs are administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in my Department. When considering an application from people in financial difficulty for any payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, the Designated Person must consider all of the relevant circumstances when examining a case in determining the most appropriate scheme type and level of assistance required. The Designated Person may ask for a number of supporting documents to ensure the customer receives a level of payment appropriate to their needs.
My Department has enhanced the Community Welfare Service in recent months. Information provision on Community Welfare Services at Intreo Centres, Social Welfare Branch Offices and the Citizens Information/Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has been improved, supported by easier telephone and email contact arrangements, and speedier processing of claims received. Exceptional needs application packs are available in all Intreo Centres and the application form can be downloaded from www.gov.ie
This has ensured that customers do not have to attend in person to access services or to make a claim.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
