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Supplementary Welfare Allowance - Case 4

Question At Issue:

Whether Supplementary Welfare Allowance (basic rate and rent supplement) may be paid to the appellant, an 18-year-old student.

Background:

The appellant, a foreign national, came to Ireland as an unaccompanied minor and was subsequently granted refugee status. He had been living in a hostel initially and was paid Supplementary Welfare Allowance. On attaining 18 years of age, he went to live in a flat close to the school he was attending. His claim to the basic rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance and to a rent supplement under the scheme was disallowed. An officer of the Health Board decided that there was no reason to use those legislative provisions which allow for payment in exceptional circumstances and that, were it not for the fact that he was a student, the appellant could claim Unemployment Assistance. A Health Board Appeals Officer upheld the decision on grounds that the governing legislation provided that Supplementary Welfare Allowance was not payable to a person attending a course of study.

Oral Hearing:

The appellant was accompanied by the liaison teacher at the secondary school he attended and by an Information Officer from the Refugee Information Service. The Superintendent Community Welfare Officer involved in the case attended at the request of the Appeals Officer.

The Superintendent Community Welfare Officer indicated that the appellant was in receipt of both a basic rate Supplementary Welfare Allowance and a rent supplement payment as a temporary arrangement, one implemented by the Health Board in order not to put him at risk. He said that while the Health Board would normally authorise payments up to the end of the academic year for a person who was completing a course, what was at issue in this case was effectively a three-year cycle – if the appellant was to complete his education. He accepted that there was a problem to be addressed but considered that it was not one for resolution by the Health Board.

The question as to the appellant claiming Unemployment Assistance was examined and it was pointed out that under that scheme, he could eventually qualify for a Back to Education Allowance. In this regard, however, the Information Officer from the Refugee Information Service pointed out that it would take some time for the appellant to qualify for such an allowance. She argued that he would, in effect, be required to abandon his education in the meantime, becoming a burden on the State.

The school liaison teacher said it was the appellant’s first year in full-time education in this country and that he was in transition year in order to improve his English and maths and to enable him to enter fifth year. He reported that the appellant had made considerable progress and argued that it was vital that he continued his second level education in order that he could to make a contribution to Irish society. In response to a question from the Appeals Officer, the liaison teacher said that he was not aware of any other student in the school being in a similar situation.

The appellant said that it was important for him to finish his education so that he would not be a burden on the social welfare system in the long term.

Consideration of the Appeals Officer:

The Appeals Officer considered the appellant to be at a considerable disadvantage in his current circumstances. He noted that, over the years, a range of employment supports and educational options had been introduced to assist the unemployed. He did not consider it a realistic proposition, however, to request the appellant to cease his education and to sign on for Unemployment Assistance, with a view to applying for Back to Education Allowance some two years hence. He considered that from the Health Board perspective, it would never have been the intention that the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme would finance students for a number of years. Nonetheless, he considered that this case should be regarded as exceptional, recognising that there would not appear to be any support mechanism or specific scheme in place to assist the appellant to continue his education and to reach his potential. He was satisfied that primary legislation [Section 172(3) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993] provided that in a case where there are exceptional circumstances, Supplementary Welfare Allowance may be granted to a person who would qualify other than for their exclusion [under Section 172(1)] while attending a course of study. Accordingly, he considered that the appellant had ongoing entitlement to payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.

Outcome:

Appeal allowed.

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