A case has been taken to the High Court after an elderly man from Dublin who was refused funds to buy himself a winter coat.
Martin Finn from Ballybough Court, Ballybough, County Dublin was refused an ENP (Exceptional Needs Payment) by the Department of Social Protection which counsel for the pensioner argues was necessary as the man suffers from conditions including arthritis, asthma, and heart problems which are exacerbated by cold weather.
ENPs are described as once-off payments to help meet a once-off exceptional cost which an individual could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
Examples include expenses such as bedding, necessary household items, or costs related to visiting relatives in hospital or prison, or costs related to a funeral following bereavement.
The Irish Examiner reported that the case, which is due to be heard in December, is the “first of what is expected to be several High challenges against the refusal of the Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphrys, to make an Exceptional Needs Payment.”
Saying that the case was just one part of a ‘wider issue’ regarding the allocation of ENP, Feichin McDonagh SC acting on behalf of Mr. Finn, argued that the Minister’s refusal of the request for money to buy the coat was accompanied by the statement that the ”the principal consideration in determining if an ENP should issue” necessitated that the need be “exceptional and unforeseen.”
He also argued that Finn had made successful applications for ENP in the past.
Justice Seamus Noonan granted Mr.Finn’s representatives leave to take the case on an ex-parte basis where a declaration that the Minister for Social Protection has fettered her discretion in the manner Section 201 of the 2005 Social Welfare Act is operated.