Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

257. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if fuel allowance is available to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52643/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household.  The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April.  One of the conditions for receipt of fuel allowance is that a person must satisfy a means test. 

In respect of the 2022/2023 fuel season, an application for Fuel Allowance has not been received from the person concerned. An application form has been posted to them. 

From January 2023, there will be a new means threshold for people aged 70 and over, of €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple.  In addition, these applicants no longer need to be in receipt of a qualifying payment to access Fuel Allowance, provided they satisfy the means test and the household composition rules.

Details in relation to the application process for those aged 70 and over, including how and when to apply, will be advertised by the Department towards the end of this year. 

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

258. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider making the fuel allowance available to those person aged over 66 years with a disability (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52475/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household.  Only one allowance is paid per household.

The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to the Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the Fuel Allowance, an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a means test and satisfy the household composition criteria. 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.

While the Department's schemes are reviewed on an ongoing basis there are no plans to grant automatic access to the Fuel Allowance payment without regard to the qualifying criteria set out above. Any decision to do so would change the targeted nature of the scheme and would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

As part of the overall welfare Budget 2023 package of almost €2.2 Billion, I was delighted to announce a number of considerable reforms to the means threshold of the Fuel Allowance scheme which will benefit many pensioner households. These reforms include:

- From January 2023, a new means threshold will be introduced for people aged 70 years and over. The new means threshold will be €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple.

- From January 2023, the standard means test for persons under 70 will be increased by €80 from €120 to €200 over the maximum State Pension Contributory rate.

- From January 2023, the Disablement Benefit payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.

- From January 2023, the Half-Rate Carer's Allowance payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.

I would also like to highlight that 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.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

259. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she plans to extend the fuel allowance to those in receipt of the working family payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52476/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household.  Only one allowance is paid per household. 

The Fuel Allowance is paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people, in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all or most of their income.

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 such as Fuel Allowance to these groups of claimants. 

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 and recipients are in full time employment and are more likely to have additional resources.  A person in receipt of the WFP can continue to receive the payment for 52 weeks even if their income increases. 

While no provision was made in Budget 2023 to allow persons in receipt of the WFP to access the Fuel Allowance payment, as part of the overall Social Welfare Budget 2023 package of almost €2.2 Billion, I was pleased to announce a number of measures in relation to the WFP.  In November 2022, people receiving the WFP will get a lump-sum payment of €500 and, in January 2023, the WFP income limits will increase by €40 across all family sizes. 

For people parenting alone and who are on a social welfare scheme such as the One-Parent Family Payment, they may also receive the double-week payment in October and the Christmas Bonus in December. 

Many of those on the WFP will also benefit from the non-social welfare cost of living measures announced in the Budget, such as theenhanced electricity credits of €600 which will be applied to electricity bills. 

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.