1.     Applicants (i.e. the beneficiaries — not the Advocate) must be resident in Dublin city or county.

2.     The year of birth of the Applicant must always be given. 

3.     Aid should be for significant distress such as a crisis precipitated by unforeseen/chronic illness/financial hardship. Particularly favourable consideration will be given where aid can contribute to getting the recipient back on their feet and achieving self-sufficiency.

4.     SIRKS expects advocates to recognise that its funds are limited (approximately €150K in total is distributed annually) and that a strong case for assistance needs to be made in every case. For example, if it is clear that the applicant has a significant net weekly income, a request for financial help will need to be justified by reference to exceptional circumstances.

5.     Statutory sources of aid and entitlements must first have been applied for and found inadequate. 

6.     SIRKS can only help with relatively small amounts of financial help or Dunnes Stores vouchers so Advocates must be realistic in the amounts they are seeking. However, experience in reviewing applications has shown that such assistance on its own may not help the Applicant. In such cases, the advocate should demonstrate that a holistic approach (possibly involving other agencies) is being adopted to address all of the issues facing the applicant, e.g. that the Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS) will provide advice in relating to managing household finances. 

7.     Requests for utility bill payments must be accompanied by copies of the relevant bills. Estimates/quotes for new or replacement items such as furniture and white goods must also be provided. We will not re-imburse Applicants for items already purchased.

8.     Where the application is a request for the cost of goods/services, SIRKS prefers to grant assistance by way of a cheque payable to the supplier of the goods/services. Advocates must confirm with the supplier, in advance of submitting an application to SIRKS, that the supplier will accept a third-party cheque from SIRKS if assistance were granted — some suppliers will not accept cheques. Where cheques are not accepted by the supplier, please say this in your covering letter, and indicate to whom the cheque should be made payable i.e. to the Advocate, or to the Advocate’s workplace.  

9.     In respect of education and training, applications for assistance will only be considered for the last year of the course if it is multi-year, or the full cost of the course if it is of one year or less duration. 

10.  SIRKS provides financial assistance on a wide variety of requests. Whereas all applications are reviewed and considered on their individual merits, SIRKS reserves the absolute right to refuse any application and will not enter into any discussions in respect of its decision. In particular, requests for assistance will not be accepted in respect of the following: funerals, rent and deposits, rent and mortgage arrears, credit card payments, loans and holidays.

11.  We will not make payments directly to Applicants.

12.  If Dunnes Stores vouchers, or a cheque payable to the Advocate/Advocate’s workplace have been requested and granted, they will be sent to the workplace of the Advocate. Please acknowledge receipt of vouchers/cheques by phone or email immediately — if we do not hear from you, it raises the possibility that the vouchers/cheques have gone astray, and we must devote resources to tracking/cancelling etc.  This phone/email acknowledgment is required in addition to the Advocate sending back a signed acknowledgement form (which we include in the letter we send with the cheque/vouchers).   

13.  Medical records, bank statements or anything showing the Applicant’s PPSN should never be sent to us, for GDPR reasons

14.  The personal phone number of the Applicant should not be sent to us, as we never communicate directly with Applicants — all communication must be via the Advocate.

PLEASE NOTE: The provision of the information outlined above, and in the manner requested, will help SIRKS to review and respond to your requests in a more efficient manner. Please double-check that you have fully completed all elements of the application form, and enclosed all the required items (such as the covering letter, quotations/invoices etc.) to ensure the prompt processing of the application. We receive many incomplete applications, which necessitate follow-up calls and emails, leading to a strain on our resources and delays with processing. A fully completed application should take no longer than one month from receipt of application to our advising of the outcome of the application. 

We acknowledge receipt of all applications, so if you have not heard anything from us within two weeks of submitting an application, please contact us to make sure we have received it