Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Paul McGrath
Ceist:
351
Mr. McGrath
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
his views on whether it is appropriate that varying levels of Christmas bonus were paid to recipients of supplementary welfare allowance in various health board areas in recent years; if he will arrange to pay retrospectively the full rate of this allowance to qualifying people in view of this variation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27444/98]
Paul McGrath
Ceist:
352
Mr. McGrath
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the level of Christmas bonus, as a percentage of supplementary welfare allowance, paid to recipients of supplementary welfare allowance in each health board area in each of the past five years.
[27446/98]
Paul McGrath
Ceist:
353
Mr. McGrath
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the number of persons in receipt of supplementary allowance who received a Christmas bonus in each health board area in each of the past five years.
[27448/98]
Paul McGrath
Ceist:
354
Mr. McGrath
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the number of people in receipt of supplementary allowance in each health board area at 1 December 1998 for each of the past five years.
[27450/98]
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 351, 352, 353 and 354 together.
The supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, scheme is administered by the health boards under the general direction and control of the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs. The basic purpose of the scheme is to ensure that no person faces hardship because their means are insufficient to meet their needs. Health boards have responded over the years to the extra demands placed on people at Christmas time by making exceptional needs payments, ENPs, under the SWA scheme.
However, practice has evolved differently in the eight health boards. In some instances, needs are assessed on a case by case basis taking into account the particular needs of the individuals concerned while in other instances, a standardised payment is issued without assessment of the individual's needs.
The standard amount paid differed from health board to health board, as did the criteria applied to who would get a payment and who would not. Standardised payments at 100 per cent of the basic weekly payment were made in three health boards. Standardised payments at 70 per cent of the basic weekly payment were made in three other health boards. Standardised payments at 100 per cent of the basic weekly payment were made in some areas within one health board and at 70 per cent in other areas within that health board. No standardised payments were issued in one health board but additional payments were made at Christmas time through the ENP system, in the normal manner.
These standardised payments gave rise to anomalies and inequitable treatment of people in similar financial circumstances. For that reason, a circular was issued to health boards on 27 November to ensure that those who receive a standardised payment were treated in a fair, equal and consistent manner. That circular related solely to standardised payments issued at Christmas time and not to ENPs calculated and issued in the normal manner.
The fact that different amounts are paid is a normal feature of ENPs where each case is dealt with on an individual basis. In fact, it is one of the strengths of the SWA system that it allows the State to be responsibe to individuals' needs. The payment of an ENP is an immediate response to an exceptional need and in this context, the question of retrospection does not arise.
There were over 17,000 people in receipt of a basic weekly SWA payment at the beginning of December 1998 and it is estimated that over a third of these will receive an additional exceptional needs payment in 1998. Statistics on the numbers of persons in receipt of SWA at the beginning of December for the past five years are not available.
Standardised ENP payments are not recorded separately from normal ENP expenditure and the figures requested by the Deputy in relation to previous years are not available.
