Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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940.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider the provision of fuel allowance for carers who do not live with the person they care for; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34194/24]

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 €382 million in 2024. 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. This ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to 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.

Fuel Allowance is a household-based payment. Disability Allowance is a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance and a carer will very often live with and care for the person in receipt of Disability Allowance, therefore already benefitting from Fuel Allowance.

While schemes such as Fuel Allowance are reviewed on an ongoing basis and suggested changes to the qualifying criteria are always considered, any further changes to the criteria for accessing the Fuel Allowance scheme can only be considered while taking account of the overall policy and budgetary situation.

The Government values the role of carers very much and it is for this reason that they receive significant income supports from the Department. In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers receive additional support in the form of free travel and household benefits (for those who live with the person for whom they care) and the annual Carer's Support Grant (€1,850) in respect of each person for whom they care.