Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In 2013, my Department will spend an estimated €284 million on the household benefits scheme, providing 410,000 customers with a package worth almost €700 per year. We will spend approximately €176 million on electricity payments and almost €19 million on gas payments. In addition, 410,000 customers will receive a fuel allowance of €20 per week for 26 weeks at a cost of €211 million. We spend almost €500 million on weekly fuel payments for six months of the year, which I am sure the Deputy will agree is a significant amount of money.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, exceptional needs payments are made to people with a particular need and more than 3,000 customers are currently in receipt of a special heating supplement, paid to assist them with special heating needs, perhaps because of ill health or infirmity.

The provision for exceptional needs payments this year is €47.6 million, with an additional €11.4 million for supplements. All told, therefore, we are spending well over €500 million on heating payments.

The change to the electricity and gas elements of the household benefits package in budget 2013 will bring significant savings while aiming to enable customers to achieve better savings through greater mobility by switching suppliers. The cost of electricity and gas allowances has risen from €110 million in 2005 to an estimated outturn of €201 million in 2012, which is an increase of 83% over seven years. In the current economic climate these increases were unsustainable.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The fuel allowance scheme was envisaged as a way of providing some additional support for those on long-term welfare payments during the winter season. Budget 2012 reduced the duration of the fuel allowance by six weeks from 32 weeks to 26, which is still half of the year and is covering the coldest months from October to April. The household benefits package is paid all year round.

It should be noted that Ireland’s older population has the lowest rate of consistent poverty - 1.9% compared with the whole population rate of 6.9% - and, as a group compared to the rest of the population, are least likely to be at risk of poverty. This points to the adequacy and importance of the State pension and other supports.

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