Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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While the State Pension is the main support provided by my Department to older people, my Department also provides further support to those who qualify through the following secondary benefits: -

• The Fuel Allowance which 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 €412 million in 2023.
• The Household Benefits Package (HHB) which comprises of the electricity or gas allowance of €35 per month and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €285 million this year on HHB for over 511,000 customers.

Furthermore, Additional Needs Payments may also be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his / her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is determined by a community welfare officer based on the particular circumstances of the case. Eligible people would normally be in receipt of a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances that have special heating needs (e.g. in the case of ill health, infirmity or a medical condition). In order to qualify for a heating supplement, the claimant must live alone or only with a qualified adult or child and satisfy the standard means test for receipt of supplementary welfare allowance.

The Government is very aware of the increased cost of living and, in Budget 2023, has provided an unprecedented response that aims to ease the financial pressure on households throughout the State.

As part of the Government's cost of living measures in Budget 2023, an Autumn Cost of Living Double Payment was paid to Social Protection recipients, including pensioners, in October.

In November, a €200 Lump Sum Payment was paid to pensioners and people with a disability receiving the Living Alone Allowance, a €500 Cost of Living Payment was paid to people receiving Carer’s Support Grant and a €500 Cost of Living lump sum was paid to people in receipt of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension. A €400 additional Lump Sum payment was also paid to all households in receipt of the Fuel Allowance Payment. A double month of Child Benefit was paid and a €500 lump sum payment was made to people in receipt of Working Family Payment.

In December, a Christmas Bonus Double Payment was paid to 1.3 million Social Protection recipients including pensioners, carers and people with disabilities.

From January 2023,the maximum rate of core Social Welfare rates was increased. There were proportionate increases for qualified adults and for people getting a reduced rate.

Also, from January 2023, a new Fuel Allowance means threshold was introduced for people aged 70 years and over. The new means threshold is €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple. Under the formula used to assess means for the Fuel Allowance for over 70s, the threshold for capital that is disregarded in the assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000. The weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 was increased by €80 to €200 above the appropriate rate of State Pension (Contributory). Similarly, the allowable means for HHB purposes for those aged between 66-69 not in receipt of a qualifying payment was also increased by €80 to €200 above the appropriate rate of State Pension (Contributory).

The enhanced electricity credit of €600 is another important Government measure announced in the Budget. This benefitted all households.

Furthermore, I recently announced a further range of measures to support people through this difficult period. This package includes a €200 lump sum payment which was paid to over 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments, including pensioners.

Any decision to provide any further measures to help older people facing higher energy bills will be considered in the context of overall scheme policy and budgetary considerations.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.