Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is an important matter that must be addressed urgently. I understand that thousands of families who are dependent on social welfare benefits received a letter last month, of which I have a copy to hand, informing them that due to a departmental error last April, they will not receive their fuel allowance payments for the week commencing on 8 October, that is, they will receive it a week later than everyone else who qualifies. This is not the Minister of State's brief and it is a pity the Minister responsible is not present because she appears to be determined to leave people in the cold. I will set out the context. As the fuel allowance is a means-tested payment, the Minister of State will understand the number of people who depend on it in rural areas in particular but also here in the city, where there is substandard housing that is cold, miserable and damp much of the time. Moreover, for quite a number of years we appear to have been breaking all records for dampness and cold.

Following the election, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, cut the fuel allowance for people in smokeless zone areas by 16% from €23.90 to €20. At the same time, she also cut the fuel components of the household benefits package and the Minister of State will have been lobbied in this regard. Electricity and gas allowances were cut by 25% and 20%, respectively, and while such cuts were the brainchild of the outgoing Fianna Fáil Administration, the present Government implemented them. As I noted, fuel allowance is means-tested but the Minister did not think she had gone far enough. She then introduced a reduction in the fuel allowance season by six full weeks, which represents a cut of €120. This might not be much to the Minister of State or to me but this is a huge cut to a pensioner who lives in poverty - the fact they are in receipt of fuel allowance means they have been means tested as living in poverty. Altogether, the Minister already has cut fuel allowance to the people who have received the aforementioned letter by 35%. This is a huge amount of money when one considers these people do not have the disposable income to make up the shortfall. Moreover, the Commission for Energy Regulation has also just approved a hike in the cost of electricity and gas, which comes on top of all the cuts the Minister has introduced.

I ask the Minister of State and the Minister for Social Protection in particular to reverse this cut. She should indicate to the Department that this cut in fuel allowance will not proceed. It is a mistake and the figures available to me indicate this will affect up to 60,000 people. The Minister of State should confirm the number of social welfare recipients who have received a letter similar to the one I have to hand, which indicates it was the Department that made the error. It has taken it this length of time to issue a letter to those people in receipt of the allowance. I ask the Minister of State to indicate that the Government will reverse this cut.

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