Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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191. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration has been given to increasing the threshold for travel allowance as part of the means testing assessment for carer’s allowance on reflection of the rapidly rising prices of petrol and diesel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22370/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am acutely aware that due to the geo-political situation, the increase in consumer prices, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices, has exceeded even the highest forecasts.

Faced with these challenging circumstances, the Government has acted quickly and decisively to introduce measures aimed at offsetting the increased cost of living for social welfare recipients.

In March, a once-off lump sum of €125 was paid to all households in receipt of the Fuel Allowance payment, at a cost of approximately €49 million.  A further additional lump sum payment of €100 will be paid to these households in mid-May – a payment equivalent to over 3 weeks additional Fuel Allowance – costing €37 million.

The increase of €10 to the weekly income threshold of the Working Family Payment was brought forward, taking effect from early April 2022 rather than from June. The €10 increase in all earnings Working Family Payment thresholds results in an increased payment of €6 per week.

In addition, every household in the country has benefitted from the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment of €200.

These measures are a continuation of the Government’s policy of targeted social welfare increases which has seen significant increases to ancillary payments such as the Fuel Allowance, Living Alone Allowance and Qualified Child payment over the lifetime of this Government, aimed at protecting the most vulnerable recipients. Research has shown that this approach has been effective in recent years, and Ireland’s system continues to be one of the most effective at tackling poverty across the EU.

As part of the Budget 2022 package, I announced significant improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance, in recognition of the vital role that carers play in society.  

The general weekly income disregard for Carer's Allowance will be increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for a couple.  This will enable more carers with modest incomes to become eligible for the scheme, and those currently in receipt of a reduced payment may now receive a higher payment.

The capital disregard will also be increased from €20,000 to €50,000 for Carer’s Allowance.  This will allow carers who have accumulated relatively modest savings, often to provide care for a loved one, to retain an entitlement to Carer's Allowance

In addition to these changes to the means test, all recipients of a weekly carers payment will have seen a €5 increase from January 2022.  Those with children will also have seen an increase in the qualified child payment - €2 increase for children under the age of 12, and €3 for children aged 12 and over - bringing these payments to €40 and €48 per week respectively.

These increases, along with the increase in the general income disregard will provide some protection to recipients of Carer's Allowance who face increased travel costs.

Any further changes to the means test for Carer's Allowance would need to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context. 

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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192. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person in receipt of disability and living alone allowances can access any additional help from the State given the current cost of living issues; if a person will be eligible for help in relation to management fees for their apartment and the local property tax; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22440/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In addition to payments under specific social welfare schemes, my Department does provide a number of targeted payments to help people with their household costs including Fuel Allowance, the Living Alone Allowance, Telephone Support Allowance and both Exceptional and Urgent Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. However, my Department does not provide direct funding to cover charges or taxes such as management fees or the local property tax.

The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April. The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying households with their energy costs.  To help mitigate the increased cost of heating a household, two additional lumpsum payments of €125 and €100 were approved for those in receipt of fuel allowance. This means that low-income households will see an increase of 55% in Fuel allowance support provided during this Fuel Allowance season compared to last season.  A recipient household which would have received €735 in fuel season 2020/2021 would see an increase of €404 to €1,139 in Fuel Allowance payments in fuel season 2021/2022. 

The Household Benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence.  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 electricity or gas allowance element of the HHB is paid at a rate of €35 a month.

Telephone Support Allowance (TSA) is a weekly payment of €2.50. People in receipt of certain qualifying payments from the Department as well as the Living Alone Allowance and Fuel Allowance will automatically qualify for the TSA. TSA supports recipients by assisting them with the cost of communications and/or home security solutions. The primary objective of the TSA is to support the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to critical communications infrastructure. 

The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Under the SWA scheme my Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.  In addition, support can be provided through a supplement under the SWA scheme which can be awarded to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and are deemed to be necessary. 

Decisions on ENPs and SWA supplements are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.