Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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458. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person applying for fuel allowance has to meet all four conditions in relation to who they reside with, or if satisfying any one out of the four conditions is sufficient in order to qualify; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59478/22]

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 criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment, a person must satisfy all the qualifying criteria including the household composition criteria. This ensures that the fuel allowance payment is targeted at 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.

To satisfy the household composition requirement, an applicant must live alone or only with:

- a qualified spouse / civil partner / cohabitant or qualified child(ren); (if the Qualified Adult is in receipt of half rate Carer’s Allowance, 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 right

OR

- 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 or Basic SWA (less than 312 days for JA and less than 12 months/364 days for SWA).

If an applicant lives with anyone other than those outlined above, then Fuel Allowance is not payable.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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459. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that a person (details supplied) has been refused fuel allowance given that they only live with their spouse who is a person in receipt of carer's allowance as per the qualifying criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59479/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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 the fuel allowance is that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and live alone or only with a dependent spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant and/or dependent children or other persons who are getting a qualifying payment and who would be eligible for a Fuel Allowance in their own right.

If the applicant is residing with a person in receipt of the full rate Carer’s allowance, the carer must be providing full time care and attention to the Fuel allowance applicant or their qualified spouse / civil partner / cohabitant or qualified child(ren). In this case, their spouse is in receipt of the Carer’s allowance for a person not resident in the household. As the person concerned is not residing with persons who are in receipt of a qualifying payment, the application for Fuel allowance was disallowed on 09 November 2022.

It is open to the spouse of the person concerned to apply for an Increase for a qualified adult on their spouse's State Pension (contributory). They can receive this payment and a half-rate Carer's Allowance. Depending on their means, the payment of an increase for a Qualified Adult and a half rate Carers allowance may be financially more beneficial to them. Payment of half-rate carer’s allowance does not preclude a person from qualifying for fuel allowance, however they will undergo a means test for fuel allowance. I have arranged for an application to issue for the Increase for a qualified adult.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs Payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.