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.

FIS recipients have their claims routinely reassessed every 12 months and until each application is validated the welfare payment is stopped.

The deputy general secretary of Social Welfare Services, Brian O’Raghallaigh informed the Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs of the 2,500 cases waiting to be cleared.

He said: “I cannot guarantee that the backlog will be cleared in the short term because with the summer holidays and so on this is the worst time of year.”

The failure to cope with FIS renewals comes despite the fact that 60% of eligible recipients are not claiming it because they do not know it applies to them.

This month, it was revealed that more than 30,000 people were missing out on an average yearly payment of €5,460.