Departmental Data

Wednesday, 12 October 2022

Ceisteanna (114)

Sorca Clarke

Ceist:

114. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of supplementary welfare allowance applications to date in 2022, by county; the number of applications awarded; the number refused; the total amount paid out; and the reason given for the payments, in tabular form [50694/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social Protection

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. Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as additional needs payments to assist with costs that cannot be met from a clients own resources and are deemed to be necessary.

The basic supplementary welfare allowance provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment or do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.

Rent supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme ensures that for those who were renting, but whose circumstances have changed due to temporary loss of employment, can continue to meet their rental commitments.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department can make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

Table 1 shows the number of Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance claims registered, awarded and disallowed by county from January 2022 to September 2022.

Table 2 shows the number of additional needs payment claims registered, awarded and disallowed by county from January 2022 to September 2022.

These tables do not reflect claims that were withdrawn, cancelled or awaiting further information. The claim figures represent a snapshot of claim activity and are subject to change.

Table 3 shows the number of rent supplement recipients awarded by county at end of September 2022. Statistics are not available for Rent supplement claims registered and disallowed at present.

Table 4 shows the total expenditure for Basic SWA, Rent Supplement and Additional Needs Payments to end of August 2022. Figures for September 2022 are not yet available. A breakdown by county of this expenditure is not available.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional needs payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Table 1- Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance claims registered, awarded and disallowed by county from January 2022 to end of September 2022

County	Registered	of which Awarded	of which Disallowed
Carlow	993	500	68
Cavan	1,010	631	163
Clare	1,988	1,648	161
Cork	5,203	3,974	389
Donegal	1,869	1,476	152
Dublin	14,798	9,005	847
Galway	2,547	1,715	158
Kerry	2,743	2,045	251
Kildare	1,921	1,059	166
Kilkenny	1,210	715	131
Laois	1,084	733	44
Leitrim	494	405	36
Limerick	2,278	1,612	169
Longford	561	435	32
Louth	1,901	1,260	153
Mayo	1,475	999	146
Meath	1,889	1,485	117
Monaghan	479	307	46
Offaly	1,049	905	65
Roscommon	826	571	47
Sligo	943	702	18
Tipperary	1,895	1,389	236
Waterford	1,639	1,126	146
Westmeath	1,288	987	173
Wexford	2,264	1,355	237
Wicklow	1,723	1,152	123
Grand Total	56,070	38,191	4,274

Table 2 - Number of additional needs payment claims registered, awarded and disallowed by county from January 2022 to September 2022

County	Registered	Awarded with value	Disallowed
Carlow	1,636	789	132
Cavan	1,593	996	146
Clare	3,482	2,335	434
Cork	7,971	5,307	1,052
Donegal	4,891	3,458	298
Dublin	29,254	18,857	1,776
Galway	4,396	2,419	500
Kerry	4,608	2,488	463
Kildare	3,185	1,647	333
Kilkenny	1,996	1,260	232
Laois	1,983	1,167	85
Leitrim	1,375	1,032	116
Limerick	3,744	2,375	251
Longford	2,072	1,529	178
Louth	2,887	1,694	306
Mayo	2,659	1,400	263
Meath	3,746	2,827	298
Monaghan	670	433	24
Offaly	2,104	1,534	118
Roscommon	1,368	738	85
Sligo	1,928	1,230	91
Tipperary	3,576	2,207	379
Waterford	2,882	1,671	412
Westmeath	3,143	2,123	348
Wexford	2,651	1,463	438
Wicklow	3,142	1,993	294
Grand Total	102,942	64,972	9,052

Table 3 – Rent Supplement recipients by county at the end of September 2022

County	Recipients
Carlow	111
Cavan	145
Clare	58
Cork	1,516
Donegal	56
Dublin	5,071
Galway	370
Kerry	360
Kildare	455
Kilkenny	42
Laois	38
Leitrim	25
Limerick	217
Longford	34
Louth	106
Mayo	141
Meath	129
Monaghan	97
Offaly	44
Roscommon	57
Sligo	60
Tipperary	107
Waterford	55
Westmeath	203
Wexford	218
Wicklow	403
Total	10,118

Table 4 – Total expenditure for Basic SWA, Rent Supplement and Additional Needs Payments to end of August 2022

Scheme	Provisional Expenditure
Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowances	€83.5m
Rent Supplement	€52.3m
Additional Needs Payments (excluding ongoing supplements)	€32.3m