Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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123. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if Section 39 community workers can qualify for the fuel allowance payment through the jobs initiative scheme for the duration of their participation in the scheme given that they are in receipt of a low weekly allowance rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53722/22]

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

The Job Initiative Scheme provided full-time employment for people 35 years of age or over who had been unemployed for 5 years or more. Since November 2004, there has been no recruitment to the Scheme. Since January 2004, participants on the Job Initiative Scheme could no longer retain their entitlement to Fuel Allowance while participating on the scheme. This decision was taken as the minimum rate of payment to participants on the scheme was significantly higher than the rate of qualifying Social Welfare payments.

Therefore, the Job Initiative Scheme is not a qualifying scheme for Fuel Allowance.

To receive the Fuel Allowance payment, an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying Social Welfare payment, satisfy a means test and the household composition test. 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 those who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.

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.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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124. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the conditions of a payment for a person (details supplied) will be reviewed. [53753/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.

A person is regarded as being permanently incapable of work if, for the period of 1 year immediately before the date of application the person had been continuously incapable of work and a deciding officer (DO) or an appeals officer (AO) is satisfied that the person is likely to continue to be incapable of work for at least another year or a DO or an AO is satisfied that the likelihood is that the person will be incapable of work for life.

Eligibility for IP can only be established on receipt of a completed application form. Based on the information provided, the Department has not received a completed IP application from the person in question.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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125. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the anomaly in cases in which a social welfare recipient, who would otherwise qualify for the fuel allowance, is deemed illegible because they are renting a room in a house in which non-qualifying persons live with whom they have no relationship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53754/22]

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

Fuel Allowance is a household payment and the status and means of all members of the household are taken into consideration when deciding entitlement. To qualify for the fuel allowance payment a person must satisfy the household composition criteria.

To satisfy the household composition criteria an applicant may live alone or only with:

- a qualified spouse / civil partner / cohabitant or qualified child(ren); (if the qualified spouse is in receipt of half rate carers, in addition to the IQA payment, they may qualify for fuel allowance, subject to a means test)or

- a person in receipt of a qualifying payment who would be entitled to the allowance in their own rightor

- a person who is in receipt of carer’s allowance or carer’s benefit in respect of providing full-time care and attention to the fuel allowance applicant or their qualified spouse / civil partner / cohabitant or qualified child(ren)or

- a person receiving short-term jobseeker's allowance (JA) or basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) - i.e., less than 312 days for JA and less than 12 months/ 364 days for SWA).

Fuel allowance is not payable if an applicant lives with any person, including a non-family member, that is not covered by the criteria outlined.

Any decision to extend the qualifying criteria for Fuel Allowance in the manner outlined by the Deputy would change the targeted nature of the scheme and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.