Service
Urgent Needs Payments (SWA)
From Department of Social Protection
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An Urgent Needs Payment is a once-off payment made to persons, including those who may not normally qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance, but who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources.
Urgent Needs Payments may be paid to meet urgent and immediate needs, examples of these could be food, clothing or shelter in the aftermath of a fire, flood or other emergency event. Financial support may also be available to assist with the increased cost of fuel and electricity experienced by families due to rising energy prices.
Urgent Needs Payments are administered by the Community Welfare Service of the department.
Anyone may qualify for a payment to meet an urgent need. However, there is no automatic entitlement to such payments.
Urgent Needs Payments are payable at the discretion of the CWS officer taking into account all the relevant circumstances of the case.
The amount you get will depend on the type of assistance that you need.
Depending on your circumstances, for example, if you are working, you may have to pay some or all of this payment back at a later date.
You should contact the Community Welfare Service at your local office.
An application form is available to download here or from your local office.
Application Form: Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA1)
Claim Form for Supplementary Welfare Allowance/ Exceptional Needs Payment.
DownloadTo help process your claim, you should have the following:
- Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers for yourself, your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and your children
- proof of address
- proof of residency (where relevant)
- proof of identity, for example, a Public Services Card (if you have one), a passport, driving licence, work permit, immigration (GNIB) card, and so on
- documents to show your income and financial situation, such as pay slips and bank statements
Operational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.
