Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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457. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to provide participants on the job initiative scheme with access to the fuel allowance payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36520/24]

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 Job Initiative scheme provides full-time employment for people 35 years of age or over who had been unemployed for five years or more. Since November 2004, there has been no recruitment to the scheme. Since January 2004, participants on the Job Initiative scheme cannot retain their entitlement to Fuel Allowance while participating on the scheme. At the time, the minimum rate of payment to participants on the scheme was significantly higher than the rate of qualifying Social Protection payments.

The minimum rate of payment to a Job Initiative participant is still significantly higher than most Social Protection primary payments, including payments such as Illness Benefit and Jobseeker's Benefit, which are also non-qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance.

Any decision to provide participants on the Job Initiative scheme with access to the Fuel Allowance payment would have to be considered in a budgetary context. However, any such decision would change the targeted nature of the Fuel Allowance scheme, as it would be awarding the payment to people in full-time employment who are not in receipt of a qualifying Social Protection payment.

Finally, the Department of Social Protection 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.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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459. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to clarify the application eligibility for fuel allowance of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36631/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I understand this question is in relation to the entitlement of the person concerned to the Household Benefits Package (HBP), rather than the Fuel Allowance. The entitlement of the person concerned to the HBP continues to be examined.

The application has been referred to a local Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) to confirm that all the conditions for receipt of the HBP are satisfied. Once the SWI has completed a report on the matter, a decision will be made, and the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.