Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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454. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on a fuel allowance application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8106/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned has been awarded Fuel Allowance from 6th January 2023. Their first payment, including arrears backdated to 6th January, will be available for collection in their nominated post office on Friday, 24th February. They were notified in writing of this decision on 16 February 2023.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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455. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the correct entitlement to social welfare payment in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8108/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) is a means-tested payment made to people who are unemployed and who do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker’s Benefit for the Self-Employed. Amongst other qualifying criteria, a person must be available for full-time work.

The person’s JA claim was selected for a review as part of the Department’s control processes. This is standard practice, and my Department routinely carries out reviews of customer claims across all schemes.

The person was initially interviewed by a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) on 15/11/2022 and documentation was requested to support her claim. As the documentation was not provided within the specified timeframe, the person was disqualified by the Deciding Officer (DO) from receiving JA with effect from 28/12/2022. This decision was made on the basis the person had not shown that her means were less than the weekly rate of JA appropriate to her family circumstances.

The person subsequently provided some of the requested documentation to my Department in January 2023. Following a second interview with a SWI on 10/02/2023, the person was asked to provide the outstanding documentation together with other documentation identified during the course of the meeting.

The person has been given 7 working days to provide the documentation, in keeping with the Department’s standard practice. When the necessary documentation has been received, the review of the person’s JA claim can progress. Once all relevant information has been reviewed, the DO will advise the person of the outcome in writing.

I trust this clarifies the matter.