Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

In other cases it has happened and from the taxpayer's point of view the Deputy understands why that is. There was no fraud by any of these people. As a long-standing policy within the scheme, fuel allowance is not payable to those who are able to provide for their heating needs from their own resources, for example, if they have access to their own fuel supply or benefit from a subsidised heating service such as those provided by Dublin City Council at a number of its housing complexes. The basis for this condition of the scheme is that the contribution that local authority tenants in communal heating situations make towards their heating costs is limited to a fixed and relatively small amount, typically approximately €6 per week, included as part of their overall rent charge. Unlike other tenants and social welfare clients generally, who must buy their own fuel at prevailing retail cost, these tenants are protected from increases in heating costs, the true cost of which are subsidised significantly by Dublin City Council and the other local authorities concerned.

In local authority communally heated dwellings, the subsidised heating is provided from September to May inclusive, which is approximately ten weeks longer than the duration of the national fuel scheme, which runs for 29 weeks from September to mid-April. To ease the burden on the tenant, payments to the local authority are spread over 52 weeks. In addition to heating each room in the flats, the local authority also provides hot water 24 hours a day, each day of the year, the charge for which is also included in the above costs. The central heating provided is not optional. Subsidised heating tends to be available mainly in the older flat-type complexes operated by the local authorities rather than the new individual units being constructed. These latter units typically have their own individual heating systems.

To retain the allowance in the case of the people concerned in this particular review, when neighbouring tenants in very similar circumstances are not eligible and are managing their budgets accordingly, would be difficult to support. The fact is that these people either were awarded an allowance in error initially or retained a previous legitimate allowance entitlement inadvertently when they moved to accommodation subsequently with subsidised heating.

Pensioners and other social welfare groups have received significant increases in their welfare payment rates this year and in recent years under this Government. This has improved their income situation considerably in real terms relative to solid fuel cost increases and to price inflation generally. The higher rates of primary payments are payable for a full 52 weeks of the year, a major change from what was the case previously. In view of the particular circumstances to which the Deputy and others have referred, the Minister has asked his Department to review the cases as a matter of urgency. However, any change to the scheme would have very significant cost implications and would have to be considered in the context of the budget and in the light of the resources available to the Minister for improvements in social welfare generally.

See this speech in context