Supplementary Welfare Allowance

Information

Supplementary Welfare Allowance provides a basic weekly allowance to eligible people who have little or no income. People with low incomes may also qualify for a weekly supplement payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme to meet certain special needs, for example, help with rent/mortgage interest payments or for urgent or exceptional needs.

Budget 2010, announced changes to Supplementary Welfare Allowance for new claimants under 25 years of age - see 'Rates' below.

Rules

If you have no income, you may be entitled to the basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance. If your weekly income is below the Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate for your family size, a payment may be made to bring your income up to the appropriate Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate. If you have claimed a social welfare benefit or pension but it has not yet been paid and you have no other income, you may qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance while you are awaiting payment.

Conditions

You will normally qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance if you satisfy the following conditions:

• You are living in the state 
• You satisfy the means test 
• You have applied for any other benefit/allowance you may be entitled to
• You satisfy the habitual residence test, except for the Exceptional Needs Payment. EU/EEA workers and Swiss nationals working here will satisfy the habitual residence condition. However, people from the EU/EEA or Switzerland who move to Ireland in search of employment are subject to the habitual residence test in the normal way while looking for work. 
• You have registered for work with FÁS if you are of working age

You will not normally qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance if you are:

• In full-time work, that is, working for more than 30 hours per week
• In full-time education 
• Involved in a trade dispute. However, you may claim Supplementary Welfare Allowance for your dependants

Means test

The following are the main items taken into account for the means test:

All cash income: including most social welfare and Health Service Executive payments, except Child Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and Blind Welfare Allowance. This also includes all financial compensation except compensation awarded by a court to people who contracted Hepatitis C through the use of Human Immunoglobulin-Anti-D or through receiving blood products or blood transfusions in Ireland, the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunals, the Residential Institutions Redress Board, or for disability caused by use of the drug Thalidomide.

From June 2007, Guardian's Payment (Contributory), Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) and the Respite Care Grant are not taken into account in the means test for Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

Rehabilitative employment: Up to €120 from rehabilitative employment is disregarded.

The value of any benefit or privilege: If you are 24 years of age or under and and you are living with a parent or a step-parent in the family home, some of your parents' income will also be taken into account in the assessment for Supplementary Welfare Allowance. The Department of Social Protection calls this an assessment of the 'benefit and privilege' you get from living with your parents. Click here to find out how benefit and privilege is assessed in the means test.

The value of investments, savings or property (but not the value of your own home) is calculated in as follows: 

In the case of a married couple or a couple living together as husband and wife, their income is added together when doing the means test.

Repayment of Supplementary Welfare Allowance

In certain circumstances, you may have to repay any assistance you have received under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme. For example:

If Supplementary Welfare Allowance is paid while you are waiting for a social welfare benefit, assistance or pension, the amount paid will be deducted from the arrears of your social welfare payment.

If you are paid an Urgent Needs Payment, you may have to pay back all or part of what you have been paid if you are working or once an insurance claim is settled.

Rates

The basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance is made up of a personal rate for the applicant and additional amounts for any adult dependant and/or child dependant(s). A child dependant is a person under the age of 18 who lives with you and depends on you for financial support. If you have been getting SWA for at least 27 weeks, the age limit is 22 for a child dependant in full-time education or up to the end of the academic year after their 22nd birthday. 

Supplementary Welfare Allowance rates from January 2010 

The reduced personal and qualified adult rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance for claimants under 25 years of age will not apply in the following cases:

• People with dependent children
• People aged 18 or 19 on 30 December 2009 and getting SWA since 29 April 2009
• People at least 20 years of age on 30 December 2009 who are getting SWA since 30 December 2009
• Certain children in the care of the HSE during the 12 months before reaching 18 years of age will also be assessed using the JA rate for people aged 25 or over.

How to apply

You should apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance to the Community Welfare Officer at your local health centre as soon as the need arises. You must fill in a Supplementary Welfare Allowance claim form (pdf), but the Community Welfare Officer can help you with this. To help process your claim, you should have the following:

• Personal Public Service (PPS) Numbers (formerly RSI numbers) for yourself, your spouse and your children
• Proof of residency
• Proof of identity, for example, a passport, driving licence, work permit, immigration (GNIB) card, etc.
• Evidence of any income you and your spouse and children are getting
• A note from your local social welfare office and your last wages slip if you have just applied for Jobseeker's Benefit/Assistance
• Your Child Benefit Book or Birth Certificates for any children you may be claiming for if you do not have PPSNs for them
• Documents to show your income and financial situation, such as, pay slips, P45, P35, P60, bank statements, etc. 

You have the right to appeal against a decision if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your claim. To appeal, you should write to the Appeals Officer at your Local Health Office.  

Where to apply