Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am taking the question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of financial supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of housing stock. Much of the latter is being done through my own Department with regard to the local authority stock.

On the fuel allowance payment, as part of budget 2022, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, announced a €5 increase in the weekly rate of payment with immediate effect. This brought the weekly rate up to €33. A number of expansions to the eligibility criteria for the fuel allowance payment were also announced at that time. The weekly means threshold for the fuel allowance scheme was increased by €20 to €120 above the appropriate rate of contributory State pension. This represented a 20% increase in the threshold and enables more people to qualify for this support. With effect from the start of the next fuel season, the qualifying period for jobseekers and supplementary welfare allowance recipients to access the fuel allowance payment will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months. The Government has, therefore, implemented significant expansions regarding the fuel allowance through budget 2022.

Further Government measures were only recently announced to help mitigate the effects of rising energy costs caused by the war in Ukraine and wider international energy challenges. As part of this package of measures totalling over €500 million, an additional lump sum payment of €125 was paid to all households in receipt of the fuel allowance payment. It is expected this additional lump sum will cost an estimated €49 million in 2022. This means low-income households will see an increase of 41% in fuel allowance support provided during this fuel allowance season compared with the previous one. A recipient household that would have received €735 in fuel season 2020-21 would see an increase of €304 to €1,039 in fuel allowance payments in fuel season 2021-2022. When taken in conjunction with the electricity costs emergency benefit payment, due to be paid in April, this household would have received over €500 in additional targeted Government supports over the course of this fuel season.

The fuel allowance is not the only payment available from the Department of Social Protection to help people with their energy costs. The household benefits package comprises the electricity or gas allowance and the free television licence. In 2022, the estimated cost of the gas and electricity element of the package is €203 million and will benefit over 476,000 households. The gas and electricity element is paid at a rate of €35 per month for 12 months of the year.

Furthermore, the Department of Social Protection operates both exceptional and urgent needs payments as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need that they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through the community welfare officers. The provision of any further additional supports to those in receipt of the fuel allowance payment would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

It is important to note significant interventions have been made by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and across Government to try to tackle this current crisis around energy costs. In the long term the strategy must be to deep-retrofit our homes, including both local authority stock and private housing stock. The general incentives brought in by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, for the local authority stock will, over time, make a significant impact.However, we are cognisant of the fact that the challenge remains for people now. That is why we are consistently trying to review the situation in order to ensure we have sufficient supports for families to meet the significant crisis we are all facing.