Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that they have been in touch with the Deputy's office in relation to this case. The time period within which an appeal may be made is up to 21 days from the date of the notification of the decision. The decision on Ms Roche's claim issued from the Department of Social Protection on the 11th of January 2024. Your correspondence was received on the 9th of April 2024 and is regrettably outside the time allowed to appeal the decision on the claim. Accordingly, this appeal has not been accepted by the Appeals Office.

If there are good reasons that explain why the appeal was late, then Ms. Roche may provide the Social Welfare Appeals Office with these reasons for consideration. There is no right to an appeal after the 21 days has expired and any appeal allowed after that time is at the discretion of the Chief Appeals Officer. Ms. Roche should provide this information as soon as possible by email to swappeals@welfare.ie or, in writing to :

Registration Section

Social Welfare Appeals Office

D’Olier House

D’Olier Street

Dublin 2

D02 XY31

It is also open to Ms. Roche to request a review of the decision on the claim from the Department at any stage.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Fuel Allowance is an administrative scheme and is payable to people who satisfy the conditions of the scheme and who either live alone or only with certain qualified people.

Following a request received on the 17 April 2024, a review was undertaken on the person concerned entitlement for Fuel Allowance

Based on the information provided to the Department, this person does not qualify for the allowance as they are not living alone, and their household consists of another individual who is not on qualifying payment for receipt of Fuel Allowance

The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 21 May 2024.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies. My Department provides assistance to eligible households in the immediate aftermath of emergency weather events under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme.

The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my Department through the local Community Welfare Service, was activated to assist householders affected following Storm Babet. This scheme remains open to those affected by this weather event to apply for assistance.

The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is to provide income- tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged and because they couldn't get insurance, are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and, in some instances, structural repair.

The income test for Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is more generous than that which applies in the case of social welfare schemes generally. The basic principle of the income test is that individuals and families with average levels of income will qualify for assistance, including non-Social Welfare recipients.

Arising from Storm Babet which occurred on 18th October 2023, over 1,100 payments have been made to households up to the end of April 2024, at a cost of over €3 million. My Department does not hold statistics in respect of Local Authority areas.

Less than 10 applications are currently being processed, this is due to additional information being required from the applicant or where it is necessary to involve the services of a Loss Adjuster. The Community Welfare Staff are paying close attention to all claims received and claims are being processed as quickly as is possible.

If any household affected by severe weather events needs to access these supports, they can contact the Community Welfare Service by phoning 0818 60 70 80.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers and understands the many pressures faced by people. The Department always seeks to ensure that claims and reviews are processed quickly and efficiently.

I wish to reassure the Deputy that claim processing is kept under active review, with all possible steps taken to improve processing times.? This includes prioritising applications from people in urgent situations, or those who may not already be in receipt of a payment from my Department.

In considering a request for a rate review for DA, evidence must be provided in respect of a customer's means. This evidence includes income and assets from various sources, with specific disregards and assessments. Delays occur where a person does not provide all the information required to correctly assess a person's means.

Where someone is experiencing financial difficulties, they can also contact their local Intreo Centre, as they may be eligible for a payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.

Without specific customer details in the case referenced, a comprehensive response cannot be provided to address this person’s means enquiry or the reason for any potential delay in a rate review.

If the Deputy wishes to provide the details, my officials can examine this case without delay.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.