Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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356. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of introducing a second band, paid at half the current rate of fuel allowance for those on fixed incomes where their weekly means threshold is between €120 and €200; the number that would be eligible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38390/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. It is a targeted payment to people dependent on specified long-term social welfare payments. The purpose of this payment is to assist those households most in need with their energy costs.

Considering 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 complex qualifying criteria such as household composition, it is not possible for my Department to provide an accurate projection of the potential cost of the measures outlined by the Deputy.

In addition, my Department does not maintain records of households that are on fixed incomes.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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358. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of expanding eligibility for the fuel allowance to all those on the working family payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38392/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each fuel season) from late September 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.

Fuel Allowance is a household payment and the circumstances and income of any other member of the household is taken into account when deciding a Fuel Allowance application. Accordingly, it is very difficult to provide an accurate estimate for the proposed measure. However, using certain assumptions, it is expected that it could cost an estimated €22.4 million in a full year.

The Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly, tax-free payment available to employees with children. It gives extra financial support to families with children with rates depending on their incomes and family size. It is not considered a long-term Social Protection payment, is not subject to a capital means test, and recipients are in full time employment. A person in receipt of the WFP can continue to receive the payment for 52 weeks even if their income increases.

Any proposals to consider expanding the eligibility criteria for the fuel allowance would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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359. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of introducing a €20 per week cost of disability payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38393/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Indecon Cost of Disability report identified that additional costs of disability is a wider issue than income supports and runs across a number of areas of expenditure. These include housing, equipment, aids and appliances, care and assistance services, mobility, transport, communications, medicines, and additional living expenses.

Indecon also identified that there is not a single typical cost of disability; rather, there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs, depending on individual circumstances.

As the findings of the research have implications for many areas of public policy, a whole-of-Government perspective is needed.

This is why the Government has referred the report to the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group, which Is chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for Disability. This group comprises of relevant departments, agencies, a Disability Stakeholder Group and people with disabilities. The group will consider and monitor recommended actions required by the various Government Departments bi-annually.

From the perspective of the Department, it is worth noting that a number of measures were introduced as part of Budget 2022 in relation to people with disabilities and their carers, which reflect some of the findings of the report. These included a combination of core weekly payment rate increases, increases in earnings disregards as well as supports to employers.

The estimated additional annual cost to the Exchequer of a weekly cost of disability payment of €20 is as follows:

* Note: the estimate is based only on persons in receipt of the following payments (at the end of May 2022): Domiciliary Care Allowance, Partial Capacity Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension and Disablement Benefit. The cost of such an approach would increase, as other payment groups may need to be included, given demographic trends and other factors.

It is important to note that the above approach is not in line with the cost of disability report conclusions.

The report notes that the concentration of any additional supports should be targeted on those most in need and who face the greatest additional costs of disability - that this approach would be more effective in meeting policy objectives and in enhancing value for money than in introducing additional small scale supports for those who face minor additional costs of disability.

The report also indicated that the levels of disability payments and allowances should be changed to reflect the very different costs of disability by severity and type of disability.

Under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion and Pathways to Work strategies, the Department has committed to developing and consulting on a ‘strawman’ proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments to ‘simplify the system, remove inconsistencies/anomalies, recognise the continuum of disability and to support employment’. Work on a ‘Strawman’ proposal is underway by officials, and the proposal will take on board the recommendations of the Indecon report, with a public consultation process to commence in due course.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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360. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that some deciding officers are not aware of the changes in the fuel allowance legislation in September 2022 and that this can result in a refusal for families who need support which could lead to fuel poverty; if she will ensure that all Department of Social Protection staff, including deciding officers are made aware of any changes to legislation and entitlements. [38398/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs.

The qualifying criteria for the Fuel Allowance scheme are outlined in detailed guidelines that are available to all staff in my Department. These detailed guidelines are reviewed and updated in line with any announced changes to the scheme. Prior to any changes to the Fuel Allowance qualifying criteria, a circular is also issued to all Department staff outlining the changes and highlighting their implementation date.

I note the Deputy is referring to changes to the Fuel Allowance scheme that are only due to come into effect in September 2022; a Deciding Officer cannot award a Fuel Allowance claim prior to new qualifying criteria coming into force.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the staff of my Department are aware of the changes to the Fuel Allowance qualifying criteria prior to the start of the 2022/23 fuel season. However, if the Deputy is aware of any claims incorrectly disallowed following the introduction of the new measures, I would ask that he urges those affected to contact my Department so that the matter can be investigated.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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361. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that persons must wait for 12 months from when they receive the jobseeker’s payment to qualify for fuel allowance given that these persons are at risk of fuel poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38399/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, which is supporting over 370,000 households in 2022, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs.

Qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance are those payments that are considered long term payments and an applicant must also satisfy a means test. People on long term payments are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty. It is for this reason that the Department allocates additional payments, supports and resources to help this cohort of claimants.

Any decision to extend the eligibility criteria for Fuel Allowance to include people in receipt of short-term benefit schemes or people in receipt of short-term jobseeker's allowance would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

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.

Finally, the Department of Social Protection provides Additional 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. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.