Vol. 553 No. 2
658 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the exact entitlements, including social welfare and supplementary welfare, of refugees and asylum seekers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13790/02]
The income maintenance needs of asylum seekers are met for the most part by health boards which administer the supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, scheme on behalf of my Department. The SWA scheme provides entitlement to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs.
Where a person has access to some resources either in cash or in kind this is taken into account in determining entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance. This occurs in the case of asylum seekers who are being provided with full board accommodation under the direct provision system operated by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Direct provision came into effect on 10 April 2000.
Where a person in direct provision receives all meals and has access to other facilities such as laundry and leisure areas the recommended weekly allowance is €19.10 per adult and €9.60 per child. These rates are currently under review by a working group which was established to examine certain issues related to the assessment of need for supplementary welfare allowance purposes. Furthermore, as is the case with all persons who are resident in the State where there are other reasonable expenses, exceptional needs payments will be made by the health board.
Asylum seekers who have not been provided with full board accommodation in direct provision and who have no other means qualify for the full standard rate of weekly SWA. This amounts to €118.80 per week for a single adult, €197.60 per week for a couple and €16.80 per week for a dependent child. Asylum seekers who arrived in the State prior to the introduction of direct provision and who live in private rented accommodation qualify for rent supplement on the same basis as other recipients. For example, a single person living in Dublin can receive up to €99.38 per week towards rent, while a family can receive up to €269.30 per week, depending on the number of people in the family.
