Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

758. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will examine the qualifying conditions for the fuel allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48301/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 €412 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household.

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. 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.

As Minister for Social Protection, I was pleased to introduce a new means test for Over 70s last year. The means threshold for those aged over 70 is €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple and is based on gross income. In addition, for people aged 70 or over, the amount of capital (savings and investments) that is disregarded in the means test for Fuel Allowance was increased from €20,000 to €50,000. Savings over €50,000 are assessed on a proportionate basis only.

The increased allowable means threshold for people who are married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership acknowledges that the overall cost of living for this cohort is higher than for a single person and the fact that the Department pays an Increase for a Qualified Adult on many of its primary payments is recognition of this.

Any further widening of the thresholds for accessing the fuel allowance scheme can only be considered while taking account of the overall policy and budgetary situation.

In Budget 2024, the Government did provide for increases to core Social Welfare payments, as well as a once off payment of €200 for those in receipt of the Living Alone Increase, along with the Christmas Bonus and January Cost of Living Bonus payments.

Finally, my Department 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.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 759 and 762 together.

Means test rules in my Department are kept under regular review and I have introduced a number of significant changes in recent years including:

• Providing for higher income disregards. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, their income from work to the level of the income disregard, is not assessed in the means test.
• Expanding the list of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for a disregard, and as part of Budget 2023 I increased this disregard.
• Introduced a Rent a Room disregard, for all Social Protection schemes, to enable recipients to support those arriving from Ukraine, and others, in a tight housing market. Earlier this year, I extended that provision for a further two years.
• From January 2023, I introduced significant changes to eligibility rules for Fuel Allowance, including a new means threshold for people aged 70 years and over - €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple. These changes resulted in an additional 35,000 households joining the scheme so far.
• Last year I significantly increased the income and capital disregards for Carer's Allowance. This enables more carers with modest incomes to become eligible for the scheme and allows carers and their families to earn more from employment while retaining their carer’s payment.