Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 738: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who were in receipt of the fuel allowance for the 2004-05 season; the cost of the scheme to his Department; and his estimate of the cost of extending the scheme to an all year round basis. [24912/05]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 751: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in receipt of the fuel allowance each year since 2000 respectively; the amount expended on the fuel allowance in each of these respective years; the amount it would cost to extend the fuel allowance by one week in the current year; his plans to extend the fuel allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25467/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 738 and 751 together.

The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders that are in receipt of long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive payments towards meeting their additional heating needs during the winter season. Under the scheme a fuel allowance of €9 per week is paid to eligible households during a 29 week winter heating period from the end of September to the middle of April each year. An additional €3.90 per week is payable in the designated urban smokeless fuel zones.

Approximately 274,000 households receive a fuel allowance and, of those, approximately 123,000 also receive a smokeless fuel supplement. The scheme is expected to cost €85.4 million this year. Expenditure and numbers for the fuel allowance scheme from 2000 to 2005 are set out in the table. The estimated additional cost in 2005 terms of extending the fuel allowances for one week is €3 million. The estimated additional cost extending the allowance for a full year of 52 weeks would be approximately €68 million.

In addition to fuel allowance, over 300,000 pensioners and other households qualify for electricity or gas allowances through the household benefits package, payable towards their heating, light and cooking costs throughout the year, at an overall cost of €108.8 million in 2005. A facility is available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs. Pensioners and other social welfare groups have received significant increases in their welfare payment rates this year and in recent years. This has improved their income situation considerably in real terms relative to solid fuel cost increases and to price inflation generally.

I am examining options for additional support to social welfare customers in preparation for the budget in December. An extension of the fuel allowance scheme duration at the end of the season is one such option, though this would have significant cost implications and must be considered along with other social welfare priorities in the context of the budget. The following table shows the numbers receiving a standard fuel allowance, smokeless fuel supplement, and annual expenditure on the scheme:

Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 740: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he plans to require old age pensioners not to collect their pensions at post offices and to issue them through banks or by other means; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25044/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The payment methods currently available to old age pensioners are payment at post offices by means of a pension order book and direct payment to a bank, building society or post office savings account. Customers are invited to choose the method of payment which best suits them when they are making a claim and can change the payment method at any stage during the life of the claim. There is no question of a customer being required to accept a particular payment method.

As some 1.6 million customers are now paid on a weekly or monthly basis, and the Department makes in excess of 59 million payment transactions per year, my objective is to ensure that a range of payment options are available to customers and that service is continually improved by providing access to the wide range of payment options and new services and facilities which are now available. In that context earlier this year I announced a review of my Department's payment methods, with a view to identifying payment solutions which will meet the needs of customers in the future. This review will examine all the payment options used by my Department and will seek information on how best to deliver social welfare payments in the future.

Ned O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 741: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the details of the change recently announced with regard to payment of weekly pensions, allowances and so on where one week's arrears issued to recipients and where the payments made are in fact for the previous week. [25048/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides people receiving social welfare payments with a range of payment methods, including electronic fund transfer, EFT. Prior to 25 August 2005 people paid by EFT received their payments one week in arrears. From that date their payment frequency was changed to one week in advance. To facilitate this change EFT pension and allowance customers received a once off double payment consisting of one week's payment in arrears which they would have normally received plus one week's payment in advance. Thereafter, they have continued and will continue to receive their normal weekly payment paid weekly in advance. My Department notified the customers involved of the changes in advance. The notice included an explanation of how the change would be made by way of a double payment in late August.