Supplementary Welfare Allowance

Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme (SWA)

The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme provides a basic income support payment to eligible people who are habitually resident in the State and whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants, through no fault of their own.

Its purpose is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need. Here are a few examples of where it could be used:

• an application for a Social Welfare payment has been made and is being processed and the claimant has no other income

• a request for a Review of a negative decision by the DSP, usually resulting in the refusal of a payment, has been made and pending the outcome of the review, the claimant has no other source of income

• an official Appeal against a decision or refusal of payment by the DSP has been lodged with the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) and the claimant has no other source of income

• a once-off payment is required to help meet an essential expense or need which a person could not be expected to meet out of their weekly income

The scheme has various terms and conditions. It is administered by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) of the Department of Social Protection at local Intreo centres.

This is a very long article so I have a list of Contents:

Contents:

• Rates of Payment

• Eligibility

• Impact of Benefit and Privilege

• Over-payments and Repayments

• Savings and Capital

• The SWA Means Test

• SWA Decisions

• SWA Appeals

• SWA Appeals Decisions and Review

• Refusal of Payment

• SWA and EU Workers

• The Main Types of SWA Payments

• Basic SWA Payment

• SWA - Payment Pending Wages

• SWA Additional Needs Payment (ANP)

• SWA Heating Supplement

• SWA Diet Supplement

• SWA Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme

• SWA Payments - Other Qualifying Conditions

• SWA Penalty Rates - Jobseekers

• Medical Cards