The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents.
Under the scheme, my Department may award a supplement to assist with on going or recurring costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and are deemed to be necessary. This can include a heating supplement where a person has need for additional heating due to ill health or infirmity. Heating supplement is not restricted to the fuel season and can be paid throughout the year.
Heating supplements are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme. All the relevant circumstances of the case are taken into account in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.
Table 1 below show the number of heating supplement recipients at the end of each month for January 2021 to April 2022.
The expenditure on heating supplement is provided for under the heading of “other supplements” which also include supplements such as travel. Provisional expenditure under these supplements was over €4.0 million in 2021 and €4.33 million has been provided for 2022. As expenditure on the SWA schemes is reported on an annualised basis, a monthly breakdown is not available.
In January 2022, at a mid point in the fuel season, which began on 21 September 2021, there were 963 people in receipt of a heating supplement, 833 of those recipients were also in receipt of a fuel allowance and 130 people in receipt of a heating supplement were not in receipt of a fuel allowance.
Payment of a supplement may be nominated to a supplier of goods or services with the permission of the customer. As at the end of April 2022, two heat supplement claims were nominated to an energy or fuel supplier.
More generally, my Department also provides discretionary Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) where appropriate to people who face difficulties in meeting fuel bills. In 2021, over 2,300 exceptional needs payments totaling almost €750,000 were made to assist with household bills and heating costs.
Anyone who struggles with heating costs is entitled to make an application for a payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance schemes. I would encourage them to contact the Community Welfare Service at their local Intreo Centre. There is a National Intreo Contact Centre in place - 0818-405060 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Table 1: Total number of heating supplement recipients at the end of each month for January 2021 to April 2022
|
Month (end of)
|
Total Number of Recipients
|
|
January 2021
|
1,086
|
|
February 2021
|
1,074
|
|
March 2021
|
1,057
|
|
April 2021
|
1,039
|
|
May 2021
|
1,027
|
|
June 2021
|
1,016
|
|
July 2021
|
1,012
|
|
August 2021
|
1,004
|
|
September 2021
|
991
|
|
October 2021
|
982
|
|
November 2021
|
976
|
|
December 2021
|
977
|
|
January 2022
|
969
|
|
February 2022
|
959
|
|
March 2022
|
961
|
|
April 2022
|
946
|
