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

As I said, during the budget one of the measures I was keen to prioritise was an expansion of the fuel allowance for older people. Both Deputies Carey and Griffin raised those issues with me. They said that a lot of pensioners do not qualify for the fuel allowance. I listen to what is said across the House, not just on one side. The evidence is there that older people are more vulnerable to the cold. The one thing I do not want to see as a Minister is a situation where an old person is afraid to turn on the heat. We all have parents and grandparents and none of us wants to see them sitting in the cold saying they cannot turn the heat on. That is why I brought in this completely new means test for those who are over 70. As Deputies know, a single person can have an income of €500 and a couple can have an income of €1,000 under the scheme. There is another important point that I want to explain. A lot of people did not get the fuel allowance because they were not in receipt of a social welfare payment to qualify for it. That particularly affected civil servants because they did not get a social welfare payment so we are changing that. That means low-paid civil servants will qualify.

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