Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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24. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to expand the fuel allowance given the significant increases in fuel prices. [48661/21]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons availing of the fuel allowance; her plans to widen eligibility for the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48635/21]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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89. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to increasing the fuel allowance in Budget 2022 as a result of rising energy prices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48519/21]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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93. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on whether eligibility for the fuel allowance should be expanded given the increases in electricity prices and carbon tax. [48554/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 83, 89 and 93 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 over 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.

My Department also pays an electricity or gas allowance under the household benefits scheme at an estimated cost of €195 million in 2021.

The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. All recipients of non-contributory payments are accepted as satisfying the means-test for fuel. People who are in receipt of a qualifying contributory payment must also satisfy a means test.

Any extension of the fuel allowance scheme or increase in the weekly amount can only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

This year funds raised through the carbon tax will again support targeted social welfare and other initiatives to alleviate fuel poverty and ensure a just transition. In this regard, in the forthcoming budget, the Government will consider how it can support people on low incomes and those on social welfare payments.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances. Exceptional needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet from his / her own resources.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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25. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the measures she will take to protect persons from the rising cost of fuel and electricity and the increasing risk of fuel and energy poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47688/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock.

With regard to income supports my Department provides a range of schemes to assist with energy costs. These include -

- The Fuel Allowance which is a payment of €28 per week for 28 weeks (giving a total per recipient of €784 each year) from October to April (estimated to cost €300 million in 2021).

- Electricity or gas allowances under the Household Benefits scheme (at an estimated cost in 2021 of €195 million).

- A special heating supplement under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.

- Exceptional needs payments to help meet an essential once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources.

In Budget 2021, the Government targeted one third of carbon tax revenues to go towards boosting the incomes of the poorest in our society. Based on ESRI research, three key DSP payments were targeted for increases in the budget as a result - the Fuel Allowance, the Qualified Child Allowance and the Living Alone Allowance. Accordingly, with effect from January 2021, I increased the Fuel Allowance by €3.50 per week to €28 for a period of 28 weeks.

The Deputy will appreciate that provision of income support is only part of the answer in terms of addressing energy costs. One of the best ways to tackle energy costs in the long term is to improve the energy efficiency of the dwelling through proper building and household insulation.

This year funds raised through the carbon tax will again support targeted social welfare and other initiatives to alleviate fuel poverty and ensure a just transition. In this regard, in the forthcoming budget, the Government will consider how it can support people on low incomes and those on social welfare payments. Any such measures can only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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27. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an increase in income criteria for the fuel allowance can be considered given the rising costs of heating a home; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48622/21]

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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56. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will assess the income eligibility criteria for fuel allowance to only apply to the applicant’s income as opposed to other adults' resident in the property whose income is not necessarily pooled with the applicant for the purpose of general expenditure and as such has no impact on their ability to meet heating costs. [47855/21]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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79. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will investigate the possibility of increasing the income limit for pensioners when considering the fuel allowance in the context of increasing energy costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48672/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 56 and 79 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.

The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. All recipients of non-contributory payments are accepted as satisfying the means-test for fuel. People who are in receipt of a qualifying contributory payment must also satisfy a means test.

A fuel applicant and members of his/her household may have a combined assessable income of up to €100.00 a week above the appropriate rate of State Pension Contributory and qualify for a payment. This ensures that the fuel allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.

Any extension of the fuel allowance qualifying criteria, such as increasing the allowable means for fuel allowance purposes or only assessing the means of the fuel applicant, can only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances. Exceptional needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet from his / her own resources.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.