Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme (SWA)
Under this scheme you may get:
- a Diet Supplement,
- Exceptional Needs Payments,
- a Heating Supplement,
- a Rent or Mortgage Interest Supplement, and
- Urgent Needs Payments.
For more information, log on to www.welfare.ie, or contact the Community Welfare Officer in your local health centre.
You may also qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for your dependent children. For more information, log on to www.welfare.ie.
Smokeless Fuel Allowance
If you are getting Illness Benefit for at least 3 months and your household satisfies a means test, you may qualify for a Smokeless Fuel Allowance.
This allowance is paid from September to April to help households meet the extra costs of using smokeless fuels in certain areas where the sale of bituminous fuel is banned. For more information, log on to www.welfare.ie.
If you get Illness Benefit, we will automatically send you an application form for this allowance.
Note
Smokeless Fuel Allowance is only paid to one member of a household.
Health Services
Medical Card
You may be eligible for a medical card from the Health Service Executive. With a medical card you have free GP services, prescriptions and in-patient hospital services. You must satisfy a means test to get a medical card. Income guidelines for the means test change in January each year.
Long-Term Illness Card
If you suffer from a certain illness or condition and do not have a medical card, you may get certain drugs and medicines free of charge for treatment of that condition. The card covers illnesses such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida and Parkinson’s Disease.
Drugs Payment Scheme
Under this scheme, you or your family only have to pay a certain amount per month towards the cost of prescribed medicines that have been approved by the Minister for Health and Children. Contact your local office of the HSE for more information on the above health services or their website www.hse.ie.