Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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836. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the electricity or gas allowance from €35 per month to €42 per month under the household benefits package. [13142/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The household benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence.  My Department will spend approximately €264 million this year on HHB for over 461,000 customers.  The package is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test.  The package is also available to some people under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments. 

The estimated full year cost of increasing the electricity and gas allowance element of the HHB package from €35 to €42 per month would be in the region of €39 million in 2021.  This estimate is based on the increase being implemented from January 2021.  Further increased costs would obviously also arise in future years, related to the numbers then receiving HHB.

Any decision to enhance the HHB package or to increase the electricity and gas aspect of the package would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations. 

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.