Supplementary Welfare Allowance
This section describes the payments under Supplementary Welfare Allowances scheme. Supplementary Welfare Allowance is run by the Health Service Executive through Community Welfare Officers at local offices of the Health Service Executive.
If you are having difficulty paying your rent and you are getting a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment, you may qualify for a Rent Supplement.
If you are having difficulty paying your mortgage and you are getting a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment, you may qualify for a Mortgage Interest Supplement.
If you are getting a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment, you may qualify for a once off payment to meet an exceptional need. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment Each application is determined by the Health Service Executive based on the particular circumstances of the case. An exceptional needs payment covers essential, once-off exceptional spending that you could not reasonably be expected to meet out of your weekly income
Urgent Needs Payments are normally made to assist with immediate needs such as food and clothing right after a fire or flood. Depending on your situation you may have to pay back all or part of what you have been paid, for example if you are working or have settled an insurance claim.
Any person who is receiving a Social Welfare or Health Service Executive payment and who has been prescribed a special diet as a result of a specified medical condition, and whose means are insufficient to meet his/her needs, may qualify for a diet supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
This allowance is intended to help towards the cost of children's school uniforms and footwear at the beginning of the school year. The scheme is administrated by the Health Service Executive and operates from the beginning of June to the end of September each year.
The School Meals Program operated by the Department of Social and Family Affairs provides funding towards provision of food services for disadvantaged school children through the Urban School Meals Scheme for primary schools and the non-statutory School Meals (Local Projects) Scheme.
In recognition of the devastation suffered by people in many areas of the country due to the recent flooding, the Government has allocated an initial sum of €10m to fund a Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. The scheme is being administered by the Community Welfare Service of the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs.