Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she intends reforming incrementally the means testing that applies to many social welfare schemes to make it more equitable and to provide a greater incentive to save and work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59131/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. In particular, I have introduced a number of changes to means testing which provide for higher income disregards. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, a certain level of income from that work is not assessed in the means test.

On foot of the commitment in the Programme for Government and in the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, my Department reviewed the means assessment disregards for Farm Assist. The report is available on the Government's website. One of the key recommendations of the report was to provide for an extensive expansion to the list of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for a disregard - a policy which I introduced with effect from June 2022.

As part of Budget 2023, I increased the disregard from these agri-environmental schemes from €2,540 to €5,000. I have also introduced several measures which aim to encourage and support people with disabilities to pursue their employment goals. This included a higher earnings disregard for Disability Allowance and Blind Pension.

Other important relevant measures which I announced as part of Budget 2023 are in respect of the means test for Fuel Allowance - broadening eligibility of this key scheme to an additional 80,000 households.

These include:

- A new allowable means threshold will be introduced for people aged 70 years and over. The new threshold will be €500 per week for a single person and €1,000 per week for a couple;

- The weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 will be increased by €80 per week, from €120 to €200 above the appropriate weekly rate of State Pension (Contributory);

- The Disablement Benefit payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes; and

- Half-Rate Carer’s Allowance payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.

In addition, from January 2023, the income thresholds on Working Family Payment will be increased by €40 per week.

Any changes to means testing would have cost implications and would have to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context. As the Deputy is aware, I have committed to initiate a review of means testing in the Department next year.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.