Written answers

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Fuel Allowance Eligibility

Photo of Noel GrealishNoel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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1223. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to change the anomaly whereby a person who was in receipt of fuel allowance prior to participating in a community employment scheme can continue to qualify and receive this payment for the duration of the scheme, but a person who joins a community employment scheme and satisfies all other criteria cannot receive fuel allowance if that person had not received it prior to starting the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46185/17]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week from October to April to 376,000 low income households to assist them 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.

Participants on Employment Support Schemes (ESS), including Community Employment Schemes, can be paid Fuel Allowance where they had applied for or were awarded fuel allowance prior to commencing the scheme and where they satisfy or continue to satisfy the conditions. Claimants moving to an Employment Support Scheme cannot accrue entitlement to Fuel Allowance while on the scheme, e.g., a person moving from Jobseeker’s Allowance with less than 391 days.

However, if there is a change in circumstances, i.e., where an ESS participant has an underlying entitlement to Fuel Allowance but is not in receipt of the allowance because another member of the household is receiving the allowance, (e.g. social welfare fuel recipient is no longer residing at the address), then it is open for the ESS participant to apply for Fuel Allowance. In such circumstances, the Fuel Allowance can be reviewed and awarded provided the ESS participant satisfies all conditions for receipt of the allowance.

The Guidelines for the Fuel Allowance Scheme are kept under review. However, any decision to allow people whose entitlement to fuel had not been established prior to participating on a community employment scheme to subsequently qualify for the fuel allowance would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs due to ill health or infirmity. Exceptional needs payments may also be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which a person is unable to meet from his/her own resources.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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