Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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553. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there is any discretion applied to applicants who do not meet the strict criteria for fuel allowance. [46700/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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All social welfare schemes, including the fuel allowance, are operated on the basis of publically available guidelines, which ensure fairness and consistency in determining eligibility. The fuel allowance is paid to those in receipt of long-term jobseekers, one-parent family payment, disability allowance, invalidity pension and some people in receipt of the State pension. The allowance is subject to a means test and is paid only to those who live alone or with certain exempted people. Full details on the criteria for the scheme are available on the Department’s website . Deciding officers have no discretion to set aside the published criteria.

Some 410,000 customers will receive the fuel allowance of €20 per week for six months of the year (26 weeks) from October to April, at a cost of €223 million. In April 2013, the Department paid an additional week of fuel allowance. This arrangement was specific to the 2012/2013 fuel season due to the particularly cold weather being experienced at the time.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Department staff have some discretion in issuing exceptional needs payments to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources; this may include exceptional heating costs. This discretion must be exercised in a reasonable way, having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In 2012, more than €2 million was issued for exceptional needs payments related to electricity and gas bills.

In addition, more than 3,000 customers received a special heating supplement, paid to assist people with special heating needs because of ill health or infirmity.