Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 8, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:

“Report on extending fuel allowance eligibility to working family payment recipients 14. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing eligibility of the fuel allowance payment to recipients of the working family payment and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 1 month of the passing of this Act.”.

In this amendment, we ask for a report on extending the fuel allowance eligibility to working family payment recipients. The amendment states:

The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing eligibility of the fuel allowance payment to recipients of the working family payment and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 1 month of the passing of this Act.

The Minister will understand the motivation behind the amendment, given that energy costs are still crippling families. Sinn Féin would target increased accessibility to the scheme for lower income working families with children by ensuring that families on low incomes would be eligible for fuel allowance by extending the payment to working family payment recipients. We do not understand why low income families are still being excluded.