The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a supplement to be paid in respect of mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Department. The purpose of mortgage interest supplement is to provide short term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only. In general a person may be entitled to a mortgage interest supplement provided that:
s/he is habitually resident in the State;
the loan agreement was entered into at a time when, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, the person was in a position to meet the repayments;
the residence in respect of which the loan is payable, is not offered for sale;
the mortgage interest payable does not exceed such amount as the Health Service Executive considers reasonable to meet his or her residential needs.
In exceptional circumstances, a supplement may be awarded where the mortgage interest exceeds such amount as the Executive considers reasonable:
but such a supplement is payable for a maximum of 12 months only;
s/he satisfies a means test;
s/he or their spouse/partner is not engaged in full-time employment.
Mortgage interest supplements are normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance, appropriate to family circumstances, less a minimum contribution, currently €13, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. The minimum contribution will be increased to €18 a week from January 2009. Many recipients pay more than the minimum contribution because they are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic supplementary welfare allowance rate towards their accommodation costs.
The existing mortgage interest supplement assessment provides for a gradual withdrawal of payment as hours of employment or earnings increase. In recent years improvements have been made to the means test to encourage eligible people to engage in employment without losing their entire mortgage interest supplement. Those availing of part-time employment (less than 30 hours a week) and/or approved training opportunities can receive mortgage interest supplement subject to their satisfying the standard means assessment rules.
Since June 2007, where a person has additional income in excess of the standard weekly rate of supplementary welfare allowance, the first €75 of such additional income together with 25% of any additional income above €75 is disregarded for means assessment purposes. This ensures that those returning to work or participating in training schemes are better off as a result of taking up such an opportunity. There are currently over 7,800 people in receipt of mortgage interest supplement. The cost of the scheme in 2008 is estimated at €26million. The provisional estimate for 2009 is €29.6m based on current levels of service. Expenditure on mortgage interest supplement is closely monitored on a monthly basis in the context of the Government's framework for reporting on public expenditure and estimates of future expenditure will be revised as appropriate taking into account trends in recipient numbers and average monthly mortgage interest payments.
Electronic statistics are not available on the length of time it takes to process an application for mortgage interest supplement. The scheme is delivered locally by community welfare officers who interview claimants when they first present to enquire about their possible entitlement for mortgage interest supplement. Claim details are recorded electronically only in cases where it is established that mortgage interest supplement is payable.