Exceptional needs payment for persons who are offered housing by local authorities under the long-term leasing scheme

Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will reinstate the exceptional needs payment for persons who are offered accommodation by local authorities under the long-term leasing scheme and contact the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to ensure that the contracts with local authorities are reviewed to ensure that houses offered are furnished in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36204/11]

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Joan Burton): Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single payment to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Those who qualify are normally in receipt of a social welfare or HSE payment. The principal consideration in making a single payment of SWA to address a particular need is that the need to be met must be ‘exceptional’. Payments should arise only under abnormal conditions and should not become a regular or standard practice. Every decision is based on the careful consideration of all the circumstances of an individual case.

In general, it is not considered appropriate that exceptional needs payments should be made towards the costs of furnishing private rented accommodation. In this regard, my Department will, as the Deputy suggests, be raising this matter with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

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