SOME APPLICANTS FOR emergency social welfare payments are waiting up to eight weeks to receive their payment, the Department of Social Protection has confirmed.
While 50% of applications for the Additional Needs Payment are being fulfulled within the space of a month, other applications are taking far longer to process.
The Department said that, overall, 95% of applications for the additional needs payment – which is used to cover basic necessities such as food, clothing, fuel and utility bills – are being finalised within eight weeks.
Some applications are taking longer still. However a spokesperson for the Department noted: “Where an application is not finalised within this timeframe, this is generally due to additional information or documentation being requested from the customer to support their application.”
The Department said it wished to provide assurances that that claim processing “is kept under active review and we will continue in our efforts to further improve the service”.
The figures were initially revealed in an answer to a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin’s social protection spokesperson Claire Kerrane.
The number of applications for the payment have increased dramatically in recent months as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.
In July, the department received 17,000 applications, while in June, 15,000 applications were received. In May the number of applications received was 11,700.
That was a jump of over 10,000 applications on April’s figures, when just 6,500 applications were received.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said an extensive campaign – launched by her department to make people more aware of the payment – has worked.
The minister told The Journal that she is glad that people are taking up the option “because that is the safety net for people who find themselves in difficulty”.
While Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has urged people in need to contact the Department of Social Protection if they are struggling to pay bills, concerns have been raised by the Sinn Féin TD and by groups like St Vincent De Paul about the delays in processing payments.
Tricia Keilthy, Head of Social Justice and Policy at the SVP, said the issue of wait times and processing times has always been a feature of the service.
However, she said as the demand for the payment increases, it’s going to become more of a pressure point.
“If people are in desperate situations, obviously, we’re worried about the impact of that on people,” she told The Journal.
Unexpected expenses
The additional needs payment is a payment available to any person who cannot pay an expense from their weekly income.
A person can receive the payment even if they are working and are not getting a social welfare payment. Those on social welfare can avail of the payment, but it is also there for those on low incomes.
The overall expenditure on the additional needs payment for the period from January to end of July 2022 amounted to €28.3 million, The Journal can confirm.
The Government has provided funding of €45.75 million for the additional needs payment this year.
In order to be eligible, weekly income limits are set at €350 for a single person, €450 for a couple with no children and between €551 and €1,318 depending on the number of children in the household.
However, even with the criteria set out, community welfare officers can ultimately use their own discretion and decide upon a person’s circumstances.
Under the scheme, an additional needs payment is made to people who need help with fuel, utility bills, repairs to or replacement of household appliances, clothing, child related items such as prams, and assistance with funerals and travel.
Keilthy said one example of what the payment is used for is the fixing of washing machines or fridges in family homes.
“One issue that comes up regularly for us is it [the payment] is available if you have any white goods. So if the washing machine breaks or the fridge goes, you can access support. But what happens is, you’re asked for an engineer’s report, which can cost €70,” she said, stating that this takes time and is another expense for people.
“In the meantime, you have no washing machine or you have no fridge,” she said.
While these payments are needed for unexpected and sudden expenses foisted on people, and with the department confirming that it is taking up to two months for some applications to be processed, Keilthy said more staff resources are needed.
A spokesperson for the Department said its Community Welfare Service “is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible”.
Support in a timely manner
In its recent pre-budget submission, the SVP advocated for an increase in funding and resources for frontline services for the additional needs payment and the community welfare service, “so that they could speed up processing times and ensure that people who do need assistance with these kind of vital needs can get the support in a timely manner”, Keilthy said.
Keilthy welcomed the awareness campaign, and the fact that a centralised phone number for people to call up was rolled out so that people did not physically have to go into a social welfare office. She also welcomed changes that allow those working more than 30 hours to qualify for the payments.
“What it really comes down to is we’re talking about one-off or discretionary payments. The reality is people need this money on a recurring basis and that’s why the core rates of the social welfare rates and minimum wage, they need to go up.
“We can’t be relying on discretionary payments for people to be able to meet the basic needs like food and energy,” she said.
The SVP is calling for a €20 increase in social welfare rates in Budget 2023.
If people are falling short every week on the basics, then that really goes back to the inadequacy of the social welfare system in the first place, because it was intended to be an exceptional needs payment, now it’s an additional needs payment, but really it’s about addressing the needs in the first place rather than trying to rely on a discretionary system.
‘Frightening’
Claire Kerrane, Sinn Féin’s social protection spokesperson, who received the reply from the department about the delays, described the current processing time for what are supposed to be emergency payments as “frightening”.
“The idea that a person in an emergency situation seeking urgent financial assistance is left waiting up to two months for a decision is unacceptable.
“This payment has been heavily promoted by Government representatives in recent months, people in difficulty have been urged to apply for the Additional Needs Payment,” said Kerrane
“I had asked the Minister months ago to put the payment online allowing people the option to apply and upload the necessary documentation online. I was assured my suggestion was being examined by Department officials – nothing has happened,” she added.
Kerrane said she is also concerned about the removal of Community Welfare Officers from the community, stating that centralising this essential community service is making it more difficult, “especially for vulnerable citizens to access emergency support in what used to be a walk-in service”.
“The demand for this payment is only going one way. Minister Humphreys must intervene and take immediate action to do whatever necessary to get the processing times down.”
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