re-communion/confirmation grant

muincav

I posted something similar before about financial help towards communion/ confirmation and nobody on this forum knew anything about it. But I have found out since that if you are in receipt of Social welfare payment and get a letter from your childs school to confirm that your child is geting either of the above, and then present it to you local community welfare officer you are in most cases entitled to a payment towards same.

There were a few people on here who said there was no such payment and I think they should not have said that as they may have denied some people the chance of seeking it, and therefore they may have missed out on monies they were entitled too..So please if you are not sure about something like this dont comment on same....
Best of luck

Nolanger

Hope you have to pay them back with whatever money the child makes on the day.

muincav

Nolanger wrote: »

Hope you have to pay them back with whatever money the child makes on the day.

No I dont have to! My taxes from 1980 up until recently should cover it and quite a few others too...:mad:

dlambirl

Never heard of that payment.

muincav

dlambirl wrote: »

Never heard of that payment.

If you need it, you can get it...the welfare officer even filled out the form and told me the cheque will be in the post by Friday.
I was astonished as Ive never looked for anything from them until now and got it first time....no wonder there was such a crowd in the waiting room...
good luck with it.

Lazarus2.0

I wouldnt imagine what you got was a communion/confirmation grant as such - more likely to be a discretionary 'hardship'-type payment that the CWO elected to give you .
Maybe the reason you got the payment was because of your circumstances coupled with the fact you dont usually ask for their help .

muincav

nessyguin wrote: »

I wouldnt imagine what you got was a communion/confirmation grant as such - more likely to be a discretionary 'hardship'-type payment that the CWO elected to give you .
Maybe the reason you got the payment was because of your circumstances coupled with the fact you dont usually ask for their help .

Recieved 200euro this morning and it is Suplementary welfare allowance...
only applied on Monday!:D

robinph

I'm shocked that they would be giving out money based on having a kid about to take part in some pointless religious thing. If you are stuck for money and cannot afford to buy food then it's one thing, but to use some church based thing like that as the justification is ridiculous. :eek:

muincav

robinph wrote: »

I'm shocked that they would be giving out money based on having a kid about to take part in some pointless religious thing. If you are stuck for money and cannot afford to buy food then it's one thing, but to use some church based thing like that as the justification is ridiculous. :eek:

I guess you dont have children? or maybe you have too much money and are more interested in Pointless crap like "winter sports"....this is Ireland,,,winter sports means jumping from one puddle to another..
When you have kids and religon come back here and comment-until then, dont bother as this is not a debate thread but an informational thread...:p

am i bovvered

I have made my communion & confirmation, but trust me on this Skiing beats both of them
Forget the communion and bring the child skiing !!!!!!!!!

robinph

muincav wrote: »

I guess you dont have children? or maybe you have too much money and are more interested in Pointless crap like "winter sports"....this is Ireland,,,winter sports means jumping from one puddle to another..
When you have kids and religon come back here and comment-until then, dont bother as this is not a debate thread but an informational thread...:p

If I were to go to the Social Welfare office and ask for some extra money because I needed it to pay for a skiing holiday I would quite rightly be told to feck off, why on earth does wanting to dress your kid up for a day whilst the rest of you get pissed* justify any kind of supplementary payment?

I am offended that they would be giving out these kinds of payments for such frivolous, and also church related, things and is a definite waste of the tax money that I have been paying into the pot for the last X years. I am unfortunately now in a position to start requesting that money back since I lost my job and don't like to see that money wasted on such things.

* Not entirely sure what goes on at these occasions, but I'm fairly certain that it would involve large amounts of alcohol once the church has done it's bit?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

What is the name of the scheme under which the money was dispensed?

muincav

Sean_K wrote: »

What is the name of the scheme under which the money was dispensed?

I think it is called the "Suplementary welfare allowance"...

and just to let robinph know,,,we wont be getting pissed after the church but I do think it is time you pissed off out of the thread....this information is for people who NEED it, and most of the people who recieve this money will use it to buy new clothes and shoes for the child to look their best on a very special day.
So if you dont need it, do not pass judgement on those who do, otherwise I will ask the MODS to close the thread as I have passed on what I consider important information for people in hard times...

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Ok well there is more info here about the scheme: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/supplementary-welfare-schemes/supplementary_welfare_allow

From this description, it's a bit of a stretch to have it paid out for a communion or confirmation, but maybe your assessor was of a different opinion as to what constitutes an urgent or exceptional requirement.

robinph

muincav wrote: »

and just to let robinph know,,,we wont be getting pissed after the church but I do think it is time you pissed off out of the thread....this information is for people who NEED it, and most of the people who recieve this money will use it to buy new clothes and shoes for the child to look their best on a very special day.
So if you dont need it, do not pass judgement on those who do, otherwise I will ask the MODS to close the thread as I have passed on what I consider important information for people in hard times...

Our opinions of what the word "need" means obviously differ significantly, but the outfits that I've seen kids wearing for these occasions are certainly not anything that could be considered essential clothing requirements for a child. If it's so important for the kid to wear some particular dressing up outfit for something to do with the church then let the church pay for it. If you need extra payments from the state to survive then I have absolutely no problem with them giving out money, it is what they are there for and why we paid our taxes to them over the years. It is not an essential requirement though and the state should definitely not be giving out money to pay for such things because the church said so.

GUIGuy

Many parishes ask that school uniforms are worn for such occasions to lessen the burden. If no one is doing it then there is no peer pressure. Talk to the principal/parish priest. Of course you'll have a few parents who want to make a statement, but then their kids are the odd ones out.... the practice soon fizzles out.

Jimdagym

GUIGuy wrote: »

Many parishes ask that school uniforms are worn for such occasions to lessen the burden. If no one is doing it then there is no peer pressure. Talk to the principal/parish priest. Of course you'll have a few parents who want to make a statement, but then their kids are the odd ones out.... the practice soon fizzles out.

I dont think it works entirely though, as the practice here seems to be buying an expensive outfit to change into once the uniform has been finished with, so it saves nothing in my experience.

Koloman

muincav wrote: »

Recieved 200euro this morning and it is Suplementary welfare allowance...
only applied on Monday!:D

I think it is a disgrace that you get money for this! Children should make their communion/confirmation in their school uniforms. That would solve the problem of who is the best dressed etc...

I also think you have a bit of a cheek muincav bragging about this, especially with all the money you save going up North to shop that you keep telling us about all the time. Maybe with all the supposed savings you make you would not need the supplement.

snubbleste

More than 8,000 families have claimed €2.27m in emergency-needs payments this year — an average of €284 — to pay for dresses and suits for their children, a sharp rise on previous years. The scheme is funded by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
The amount being paid out by the state to parents has risen sharply since 2006, when €1.5m was claimed. With communion ceremonies continuing until the end of this month, the final bill this year is likely to exceed €2.5m — the highest ever.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article6211594.ece

TequilaMockingBird

The chances are most peoples kids go to Catholic schools. The HUGE deal made of communion/confirmation by the school seems to translate to parents as a need to spend money on it. It needs to be knocked on the head.

I read recently of a parish here in Ireland that had decided white robes were to be worn by all pupils during the ceremony, but apparently the girls all just wore the communion dresses underneath, so they dropped the scheme.

I think with the state of the economy this excess will be stopped, but it has to start with the school, and followed by the parents. It's not fair on either the child or the parents. Tax money going on a dress or suit, which will be worn for one day is not acceptable to most people.

(I got my girls dress from Adams Kids for around €20 in a sale. Most parents paid around €200. Even if I could afford that, I wouldn't do it. She looked gorgeous too btw!)

jaffa20

Isn't it possible to rent clothing like this for the day or use dresses from previous years. i know my sister's dress is still sitting in the loft gathering dust. Many people would be willing to give these away for free.

I think it's sickening that 2.5 million is going to be spent on that during a recession just to buy new clothes for a ceremony.

patrickc

my daughters was bought in a charity shop, there worn once, maybe twice or so..

uoluol

People would be shocked and horrified if they knew what a lot of these supplementary payments (Emergency Need Payments (ENP)- under which payments are given by the health boards for money for communion clothing) are paid out for. I know of ENP's being given several times to the same person for maternity clothing. Are Penny's /Dunnes/Charity shops really that expensive? Believe me one off clothing grants are just the tip of the iceberg.

They have also been made available for furniture, which I feel in many cases is unfair - I know when I moved house I had to initially make do with second hand and hand me down furniture. Not so for many people on welfare.

Personally I really don't see why a child should be dressed in new clothing,if the parent is not in a position to pay for these items.Nothing wrong with borrowing or buying second hand.

There are many flaws with Supplementary Welfare payments - I know I have been highlighting these to the chancers who come around canvassing for votes. Maybe we could all do the same.

User45701

muincav wrote: »

I think it is called the "Suplementary welfare allowance"...

and just to let robinph know,,,we wont be getting pissed after the church but I do think it is time you pissed off out of the thread....this information is for people who NEED it, and most of the people who recieve this money will use it to buy new clothes and shoes for the child to look their best on a very special day.
So if you dont need it, do not pass judgement on those who do, otherwise I will ask the MODS to close the thread as I have passed on what I consider important information for people in hard times...

Thats just silly

Why should money from taxes be used for religion - this has actually pissed me off so much ive already phoned my local TD - im sure it will get nowhere.

So question to those who know more about irish governmental regulations than i do - to get this or any scheme/grant removed does it have to be proposed and ratified by the dail? who would have final say on this and what is the process for adding new schemes or removing old ones?

There is only 1 SMALL benefit from this and that is it will drive the economy somewhat - ive been telling people to spend all their money and not save because saving is selfish and it leads to job losses.

This thing has some people spending money on clothing and that might help out one or two small business but i still think its a disgrace that my goverment is giving money to assist anyone in any sort of religious ceremony

snubbleste

Research has shown that children in Waterford and across Munster receive most First Holy Communion money, compared with the rest of the country. On average the figure for Waterford is €436.
The research, conducted for EBS Building Society, also offers an insight into how parents feel their children are being impacted by the recession..>>>

Like, that's some amount of cash! It's only an average though

Xiney

That's more than we spent on our wedding :eek:

Seriously!

DUBLINHITMAN

good on you OP
fairplay i worked for ten years and payed so much tax that if i was in the same position as your self i'd do the same thing ,

the goverment screwd us to long i dont see why this could upset anyone .
if your on the dole you have intitelments this been one that people dont know about horrifies alot of you ,
get over it .

i wonder how much morphine costs the goverment every year ,
200 euro for a communiuon or comformation big deal unless the people getting this payment are like rabbits and have 15 kids '

just my thoughts
and fairplay again OP

Thomas_S_Hunterson

DUBLINHITMAN wrote: »

good on you OP
fairplay i worked for ten years and payed so much tax that if i was in the same position as your self i'd do the same thing ,

the goverment screwd us to long i dont see why this could upset anyone .
if your on the dole you have intitelments this been one that people dont know about horrifies alot of you ,
get over it .

i wonder how much morphine costs the goverment every year ,
200 euro for a communiuon or comformation big deal unless the people getting this payment are like rabbits and have 15 kids '

just my thoughts
and fairplay again OP

Well if peeps are getting a couple o hundred quid for pointless clothes for a bull**** ceremony then i want a couple of hundred quid to head down to the bookies

Gadfly

The payment is called an Exceptional Need Payment.

For what it's worth, communicants should make it in their school uniform. In my experience, it seems to be the mothers who want to splash out on communion dresses. I would have been quite happy with my daughter making hers in her school uniform. The money would be better spent on regular clothes instead.

Link: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/swa_exneeds.aspx

The_Conductor

Gadfly wrote: »

In my experience, it seems to be the mothers who want to splash out on communion dresses. I would have been quite happy with my daughter making hers in her school uniform. The money would be better spent on regular clothes instead.

Link: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/swa_exneeds.aspx

+1

Apparently it costs almost 4 times more to kit out a girl for her communion than it does a boy......

If they are spending EUR2.5m on communion gear- perhaps its time to means test it, and give a contract for supplying the outfits to a specific firm- based on competitive tender? EUR2.5m is a lot of money.

Holly Fogarty

Bottom line is this: if the payment is available and the CWO deems the applicant as qualified, then the payment is perfectly legit.

upinthesky

i found out about this there is a payment its part of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance its payed to people on low income that have a child for communion or conformation the payment is 305 euros

cee_jay

Zombie thread. Locked.