John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 14, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “Review of qualifying conditions for Fuel Allowance in respect of certain social welfare payments

20. The Minister shall conduct a review and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the current qualifying conditions in place in order for those in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance and Supplementary Welfare Allowance to qualify for the Fuel Allowance and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection within 3 months of the enactment of this Act.”.

My amendment seeks a review of the qualifying conditions for fuel allowance in respect of certain social welfare payments. Again, the qualifying conditions for recipients of jobseeker's allowance and supplementary welfare allowance for the fuel allowance are unfair. For example, in order to qualify for the fuel allowance, a person needs to be in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for more than 390 days or 15 months. For the sake of argument, if a worker becomes unemployed this winter, he or she will not qualify for the fuel allowance either this winter or next winter. Potentially, he or she could miss out on payments for two winters, whereas someone who became unemployed earlier in the year or during the summer will only miss out on receiving the fuel allowance this winter but will qualify for it next year. The way the conditions have been set up is unfair, particularly for persons who are very vulnerable. We have gone through all of the arguments, including whether the allowance has even been set at the right level from the start. I am not sure what the rationale is for stipulating a 15-month period. Perhaps the Minister might explain it. A review might prove greatly beneficial in the cases I have outlined.