Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) Scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in my Department.
The purpose of the Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) scheme is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The ENP scheme is demand led and 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.
For households dependent on income support payments from this department, additional heating and electricity costs may present a significant challenge. Financial support in the form of an ENP may be available to assist with such costs. A Heating Supplement may also be paid to assist people in certain circumstances that have exceptional heating costs due to ill health, infirmity or a medical condition and are unable to meet those costs out of household income.
Statistics are maintained on the number of applications awarded under the ENP scheme. Statistics are not maintained on the number of applications received or the outcome of those applications.
Anyone who wishes to make an application for a payment under the SWA schemes should contact the Community Welfare Service at their local Intreo Centre. There is a national Income Support Helpline in place - 0818800024 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.
Table 1 shows the number of payments and expenditure on ENPs for heating costs and household bills, per county for each year 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021.
ENP Scheme
Note: These figures are taken from the Department's ENP database and represent a snapshot of ENPs as they are approved by an officer rather than when they are paid. The figures do not capture payments that are cancelled, payments that go out of date or overpayments recouped.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.