John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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951.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the fuel allowance for a person (details supplied) was stopped; and if it can be reinstated.[34389/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April to assist households with their energy costs.

Under the current qualifying conditions for fuel allowance a person must satisfy all the qualifying criteria including household composition. In this case, the person concerned is residing with a person who is not in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department. As the household composition criteria are not satisfied, the fuel allowance was stopped from the 1st December 2023. The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision and advised if there were any changes in their circumstances to submit a new application.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Additional Needs Payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off costs which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.