Mortgage interest supplement

Hi just wondering have there been big changes to mortgage interest supplement....
The reason I ask is this time last year I got 145euro a month and in sep 2011 I started a 8 month contract that finished in may/june 2012. When I signed back on social welfare I was told that I would have to make a new claim for mortgage interest supplement. I made the new claim in july and got a letter last friday from the social stating the (m.i.s) has been awarded to me at a rate of 5.50euro a week/ 22euro a month. I know that there have been cutbacks to social welfare but this does not seem right to me. My circumstances have not changed from last year

Any advise
Thanks

I thought DSP brought in a new rule in 2012 that a new applicant for MIS would only receive MIS if the mortgage had been restructured and a year had elapsed.

Did you receive a sheet from DSP showing how your monthly MIS 0f €22 was calculated?

hi steiner i did have the mortgage restructured since 2010 and no i did not get a sheet from social just a letter saying it was granted and the amount

Yes, there were changes to entitlements for MIS from January (apart from the 12 month MARP requirement which Steiner mentions above, which applies to new claims from mid-June).

The minimum contribution which was €24 pw last year is now €30 pw for a single person or €35 for a couple.

If the interest rate has changed on your mortgage, or the amount of interest v capital you're paying has changed since last year, that may have affected your entitlement, as only the interest portion can be considered.

You can ask for a calculation sheet from the SWA officer to show where the final entitlement came from.