Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have compensated in other areas with lump sum payments for the fuel allowance, for example, as the Deputy knows.. I can give some statistics. The household benefits electricity allowance is €189 million. In 2021, it was €181 million and, in 2022, €189 million, so it has gone up.

In 2013, it was €165 million and it went up to €189 million in 2022. The fuel allowance in 2013 was €228 million; it is now €576 million. We expanded it to the over-70s by changing the income limits. The free television licence was €57 million in 2013; it was €70 million in 2022. The gas allowance was €15 million and is now €22 million, and the household benefits telephone support allowance was €52 million and has gone down to €18 million. I presume that is because there are all sorts of offers and many people use WhatsApp now to reduce their costs. The total in all household benefits in 2013 was €518 million and, in 2022, it was €876 million. The most recent figures I have are for 2022. It is a considerable increase. The estimated cost of the household benefits package in 2024 is €294 million.