Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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460. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the fuel allowance will be extended to those in receipt of illness benefit experiencing fuel poverty who are unable to work due to illness or ongoing medical treatment. [48187/21]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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461. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider expanding the eligibility for the fuel allowance to include those in receipt of illness benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48210/21]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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463. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider extending the fuel allowance and bonus week payments to those on illness benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48215/21]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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465. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason there is a rule that prevents persons who are on illness benefit from qualifying for fuel allowance and the bonus week payment at Christmas given that there is a provision made for those in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for 390 days, 15 months or more to qualify for both the fuel allowance and the bonus week (details supplied); and the reason no such provision is made for those on illness benefit. [48233/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 460, 461, 463 and 465 together.

The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €28.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €784 each year) from October to April, to 370,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €300 million in 2021. 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.

Fuel Allowance and the Christmas Bonus are paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, lone parents and the long-term unemployed in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all or most of their income.

The reason Illness Benefit is not a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance or the Christmas Bonus is that, in the majority of cases, Illness Benefit is a short-term payment for those who are certified by their GP as needing to take time out from their employment due to illness.

People who are permanently incapable of work may be eligible for the non-means-tested Invalidity Pension, subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria. Those who are substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment arising from a medical condition may be eligible for the means-tested Disability Allowance, subject to meeting the relevant medical criteria. Recipients of both of these payments are eligible for the Christmas Bonus and subject to satisfying all qualifying condition, Fuel Allowance.

Any decision to extend the eligibility criteria for Fuel Allowance or the Christmas Bonus to include people in receipt of Illness Benefit would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs Payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputies..