€900m discretionary welfare payments in five years

Over €900m has been paid out to social welfare claimants who did not qualify for assistance under standard State welfare schemes in the past five years.

The cash payments made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme include almost €212m in one-off awards in respect of specific purchases, which are approved at the discretion of welfare officers.

A total of 753,796 such payments have been approved in the past five years, for items including household appliances, travel expenses, and child-related items such as prams and cots.