Social Welfare Appeal G0016

The Appellant applied for Mortgage Interest Supplement (MIS) in late 2008 to assist her in making her mortgage repayments. The Health Service Executive (HSE) refused the claim on the following grounds; the house was the subject of a court action by the lending institution, the arrears were so substantial that it seemed the mortgage loan was not viable, the house was in joint ownership and any supplement would only be in respect of half of the loan and if the Appellant was to be awarded full ownership of the house through her court action, the HSE could not award a supplement for that increased mortgage interest liability. The Appellant appealed this decision. The Appeals Officer disallowed the appeal. The Appeals Officer refused the appeal on the grounds that at the time of entering into the mortgage agreement, the Appellant was unable to meet the repayments and in addition, due to the amount of the arrears, it was not reasonable to award the supplement.