Thousands of families denied due welfare payments

THOUSANDS of families are having to manage without welfare payments this summer because the Department of Social and Family Affairs does not have the staff to renew their claims swiftly enough.

The department estimates that 2,500 people have had their FIS stopped, for up to two months, as welfare officials work through the backlog of cases.

The civil service staffing cap and summer holidays have been blamed for a situation where the department is unable to update people’s Family Income Support supplement fast enough to maintain average weekly payments of €105.