Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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297. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending the current weekly means testing amount of €120 qualifying to qualify for the fuel allowance by €5 per week. [25473/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying 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.

Taking account of the fact that the Fuel Allowance is a household based payment and that qualification is not just based on the means test but on a number of other qualifying criteria such as household composition, it is not possible for my Department to provide an accurate projection of the potential cost of the measure outlined by the Deputy. My Department also does not maintain records across all schemes of the amount by which unsuccessful fuel applicants are over the income threshold. It is also worth noting that many people above the existing income threshold may not make an application.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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300. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the jobseeker’s transitional payment scheme age cut-off to 18 years of age. [25476/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment provides income support to lone parents whose youngest child is aged 7 to 13 years, inclusive. When their youngest child turns 14, a person may be eligible for Jobseeker’s Allowance payment.

The Working Family Payment is also available to lone parents who are working 38 or more hours per fortnight. That scheme is payable where a person has a child up to age 18 or age 22 if in full time education. Lone parents currently on Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment can transfer to Working Family Payment where they satisfy the hours worked requirement and the other scheme conditions.

A person who takes up or is in insurable employment or takes up self-employment within four weeks of the end of their Jobseeker's Transitional Payment claim can qualify for Back to Work Family Dividend which is payable over a two year period. In year one, the rate of payment is based on the person's Qualified Child entitlement, subject to a maximum of four children, on the date of exit from their primary payment. Fifty per cent of that amount is payable in year two.

Working Family Payment and Back to Work Family Dividend can be paid concurrently.

I am advised that the cost of increasing the age limit for a qualified child for the Jobseeker's Transitional Payment (JST) until the youngest child reaches 18 is not easily estimated. In any event, extending the Jobseeker's Transitional Payment beyond the 14th birthday of a person’s youngest child would have the effect of delaying the interaction of affected customers with the Department’s Intreo services. The primary aim of the current system is to reduce long-term welfare dependency, and associated poverty, among lone parents, and to improve their access to education, training, and employment support services. Improved access to these services will enhance their skills-set and job-readiness, thereby assisting with their transition into the workforce, and with their subsequent attainment of financial independence.

For these reasons, I have no plans to change the position at this time. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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301. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of exceptional needs payments that were provided due to domestic or gender-based violence per month to date 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25477/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) Scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in my Department.

The purpose of the Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) scheme is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.The ENP scheme is demand led and payments 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.

The application and decision making process does not collect statistical information from the applicant in terms of whether they are a victim of domestic or gender based violence.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an exceptional or urgent needs payment is encouraged to contact their local Intreo Centre. There is a National Intreo Contact Centre in place - 0818-405060 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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302. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of rent supplements for survivors of domestic violence by month to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25478/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The accommodation needs of victims of domestic violence are met through a joined-up service delivery model provided by Tusla with the close involvement of the various housing authorities nationwide.

Access to Rent Supplement can be provided on referral by Tusla or by prescribed Tusla funded service providers. This provides victims of domestic violence with a fast track approval and screening process with a simplified means test to get immediate access to rent supplement so that they are not prevented from leaving their home because of financial concerns.

The standard rent supplement means test does not apply to these applicants for an initial three month period. After three months, a further three month extension may be provided, subject to the usual rent supplement means assessment. After six months, if the tenant has a long-term housing need, they can apply to their local housing authority for social housing supports and, if eligible, will be able to access the Housing Assistance Payment, a social housing support provided by Local Authorities.

While this protocol to assist victims of domestic violence in accessing rent supplement was initially introduced in August 2020 in response to the pandemic, I was pleased to announce in November last year that the measure has been made a permanent feature of the Rent Supplement Scheme, recognising that the underlying rationale for this support will be required long after the impact of the pandemic has receded.

Access to rent supplement is additional and complementary to the range of other supports already in place for victims of domestic violence.

In the period since August 2020, 217 victims of domestic violence have been supported with rent supplement under the protocol. There are 43 victims of domestic violence currently being supported under the Protocol, with a further 51 victims of domestic violence being supported on rent supplement subject to the standard rent supplement means assessment and eligibility criteria, following a period of support under the domestic violence protocol.

Table 1 shows the number accessing rent supplement support under the domestic violence protocol from August 2020 to date in 2022.

Table 1 – The number accessing rent supplement support under domestic violence protocol at end of month, to date in 2022.

Recipients of Rent Supplement under Domestic Violence Protocol

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.