I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 422 together.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department can make Additional Needs Payments (ANPs) 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 person's own resources, and which are deemed to be necessary.
The scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the schemes 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.
A person can apply for an ANP by completing a SWA1 form, which is widely available. It can be downloaded at www.gov.ie. It is available in all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices. It can also be requested by emailing cwsforms@welfare.ie or by calling the National Community Welfare Service freephone number at 0818 60 70 80. A person can also request a SWA1 form by using the Request Application Form page available on www.gov.ie.
The following table details ANPs registered in October and November 2021 and the latest available statistics in the year-to-date September 2022:
County
|
Registered in Oct 2021
|
Registered in Nov 2021
|
Registered YTD Sept 2022
|
Carlow
|
85
|
109
|
1,532
|
Cavan
|
93
|
85
|
1,614
|
Clare
|
155
|
125
|
3,663
|
Cork
|
627
|
591
|
7,988
|
Donegal
|
160
|
190
|
4,932
|
Dublin
|
2,276
|
2,529
|
29,264
|
Galway
|
229
|
312
|
4,484
|
Kerry
|
161
|
249
|
4,762
|
Kildare
|
316
|
343
|
3,213
|
Kilkenny
|
135
|
150
|
2,131
|
Laois
|
150
|
154
|
2,028
|
Leitrim
|
85
|
77
|
1,405
|
Limerick
|
207
|
225
|
3,674
|
Longford
|
122
|
136
|
2,048
|
Louth
|
119
|
218
|
2,807
|
Mayo
|
134
|
162
|
2,677
|
Meath
|
210
|
228
|
3,906
|
Monaghan
|
69
|
68
|
685
|
Offaly
|
88
|
102
|
2,134
|
Roscommon
|
104
|
75
|
1,389
|
Sligo
|
110
|
140
|
1,928
|
Tipperary
|
287
|
290
|
3,521
|
Waterford
|
167
|
224
|
2,905
|
Westmeath
|
181
|
180
|
3,155
|
Wexford
|
136
|
154
|
2,652
|
Wicklow
|
152
|
225
|
3,118
|
Unknown
|
11
|
9
|
59
|
Total
|
6,569
|
7,350
|
103,674
|
I trust this clarifies the matter.