Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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448. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will remove nursing home costs from the means assessments for fuel allowance payments to alleviate the burden on families (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36431/24]

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.

Fuel Allowance operates as part of an overall system of social protection supports which provides assistance payments based on a system of means testing. The means test ensures that the recipient has a verifiable income need and that resources are targeted to those who need them most.

By its nature, the means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, property - other than the family home - and capital. It does not take account of a person’s expenditure commitments or income tax circumstances.

In the case where one person (who is part of a married/cohabiting couple, or in a civil partnership) goes into a nursing home for longer than 13 weeks, the means of the couple are divided by two and the single disregard is applied to the calculation.

Any decision to fully disregard Nursing Home fees under the fair deal scheme would have budgetary implications and would have to be considered from an overall policy and budgetary context.

Finally, my Department provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an essential 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.