Social Welfare Schemes

Thursday, 14 July 2022

Questions (549, 550)

Thomas Gould

Question:

549. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the average wait time for an additional needs' payment in Cork. [39285/22]

View answer

Thomas Gould

Question:

550. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the average wait time for a supplementary welfare allowance in Cork. [39286/22]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 549 and 550 together.

The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme offers a safety net within the overall social welfare system by providing assistance to people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents.

The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance to those in need.

There are several payments within the scheme, i.e., basic SWA, Rent Supplement, Additional Needs Payments and SWA Supplements.

Supplementary Welfare Allowance is administered by the Community Welfare Service of the department.

The Community Welfare Service is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

There is currently no data available on the processing times for SWA payments. Processing times for payments are dependent upon the complexity of the claim and the volume of claims pertaining at any given time. Payments that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, can take longer to process. Means-tested payments also require more detailed investigation and possible interaction with the customer, thereby effecting the time required in the decision-making process.

I wish to reassure the Deputy that claim processing is kept under active review and we will continue in our efforts to further improve the service.

I can assure the Deputy of my Department's commitment to providing a quality service to all its customers.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Question No. 550 answered with Question No. 549.