Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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222. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason time on a VTOS course is not counted towards the qualifying period for the fuel allowance and the Christmas bonus; his plans to alter the requirements where some persons on the same course are receiving the benefits and others are not, depending on their days claiming before commencing the course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33415/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 26 weeks from October to April, to approximately 376,000 low income households. The estimated cost of the scheme in 2016 is €224 million. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.

The fuel allowance is a means tested payment, targeted at those who are more vulnerable to energy poverty, including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.

VTOS is operated through local education and training boards who are funded by the Department of Education and Science, and not by my Department, and so itis not a qualifying payment for fuel allowance or the Christmas bonus. However to ensure that long term recipients of social protection payments are not financially worse off while participating on a VTOS course they are allowed retain secondary benefits such as the fuel allowance and the Christmas bonus.

Any decision to allow persons on a VTOS course to accrue entitlement to the fuel allowance or Christmas bonus would have to be considered in the overall budgetary negotiations.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Minister.