Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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100. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of a weekly social welfare payment who do not receive the household benefits package and who consequently will not receive any assistance with the water charges to be introduced next year and the difference between the size of the new payment in the household benefits package and the relevant average annual bill. [39797/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection (DSP) will spend €230 million this year on the household benefits package for almost 415,000 customers. The fuel allowance is paid for 26 weeks from October to April to almost 415,000 households at an estimated cost of €208 million in 2014. The Government has already announced that from 2015 both the household benefits package and the fuel allowance will also include a quarterly water support payment of €25. The estimated cost of this new water support payment of €100 per annum will be in the region of €66 million in 2015. I understand that the average water charge will be €238 per year.

I am confident that the combination of both household benefits and fuel allowance as qualifying payments for water support will ensure that the payment is made to those most likely to be impacted by the charges, including the elderly, the disabled and those on long term social protection payments.

The following schemes provide entitlement to household benefits or fuel allowance, in some cases subject to a means or household composition test:

- State pension contributory, non-contributory and transition

- widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory and non-contributory pension

- pre-retirement allowance, farm assist and long term (over 15 months) jobseeker's allowance

- one parent family payment

- deserted wife's allowance

- deserted wife's benefit

- disability allowance

- blind pension

- carer's allowance (if carer lives with person being cared for)

- invalidity pension

- injury benefit

- guardian's payment (non-contributory)

- guardian's payment (contributory)

- others, including people over 70, people in receipt of a foreign pension, people aged 66-70 subject to a means test.

People who had an entitlement to household benefits or fuel allowance before beginning employment support or back to education schemes normally retain their entitlements while on the schemes.

The following short term schemes are not qualifying schemes for either household benefits or fuel allowance:

- basic supplementary welfare allowance (under 15 months)

- short term jobseeker's allowance (under 15 months)

- jobseekers benefit

- maternity or adoptive benefit

- family income supplement

- illness benefit

- carers benefit

- health and safety benefit.

As regards the number who will not be entitled to water support, it is not possible to give a definitive answer, as both household benefits and fuel allowance are paid on a household basis, i.e., a house with several people in receipt of weekly payments from this Department will only receive one water support payment. People who are in receipt of non-qualifying payments may live in households which qualify through other people in the household. Similarly, while family income supplement (FIS) is not a qualifying payment itself, a person in receipt of both FIS and one parent family payment may qualify for fuel allowance.

In addition to these measures, an income tax relief will apply to water charges from January 2015. This will mean that people paying income tax will be able to reduce their tax bill by 20% of their water charges, up to a maximum relief of €100 a year.