Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will expand the eligibility for the fuel allowance payment. [14837/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The eligibility criteria for Fuel Allowance ensures that the 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.

As part of Budget 2022, I announced a number of expansions to the eligibility criteria for the Fuel Allowance payment.

The weekly means threshold for the Fuel Allowance scheme was increased by €20 to €120 above the appropriate rate of contributory State pension representing a 20% increase in the threshold which enables more people to qualify for this support.  The €120 allowable means limit is significantly more than the €33 weekly rate of Fuel Allowance.

With effect from September 2022 the qualifying period for Jobseeker’s and Supplementary Welfare Allowance recipients to be in a position to access the Fuel Allowance payment will be reduced from 15 to 12 months.

The Government has, therefore, implemented significant improvements in relation to Fuel Allowance through Budget 2022.  Any proposal for further changes to the eligibility criteria would have to be considered in this context and in the context of the overall policy and budgetary situation.

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 Deputy.