Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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225. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a homeless person on a community employment scheme is not eligible for the fuel allowance when they are housed and were not in receipt of fuel allowance previously (details supplied). [39234/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 27 weeks (a total of €607.50 each year) from October to April, to over 368,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. 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.

Participants on a Community Employment scheme can be paid fuel allowance where they had applied for or were awarded fuel allowance prior to commencing on the scheme and where they satisfy or continue to satisfy the conditions. Claimants moving to a Community Employment scheme cannot accrue entitlement to fuel allowance while on the scheme.

Any decision to include a Community Employment scheme as a qualifying payment for fuel allowance would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances that have special heating needs. Exceptional needs payments (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources and this may include exceptional heating costs.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.