Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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140. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if there are any plans to change the eligibility for fuel allowance and the household benefits package for those on State pensions who have a family member living with them. [40634/24]

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. To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment, a person must satisfy all the qualifying criteria including the household composition criteria. 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.

The Fuel Allowance guidelines allow a fuel applicant to live with a qualified spouse/civil partner/cohabitant or qualified child(ren). For the purposes of Fuel Allowance, a qualified child is one for whom an Increase for a Qualified Child is payable, or in the case of an applicant with no primary social welfare scheme, the child must be in full-time education if aged between 18 and 22.

A change in the qualifying criteria such as that proposed by the Deputy, would have to be carefully considered, as disregarding the income of another family member would change the targeted nature of the scheme.

There will always be exceptional cases and it is for this reason that the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme was introduced. Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme are available to people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers

The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The Department of Social Protection will spend approximately €294 million this year on the Household Benefits Package for over 529,000 customers.

People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one package provided per household. The package is also available to people living in the State aged 66-69 years who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments or who satisfy a means test. The package is available to some people under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.

With regards to those aged 70 or over, the status or income of another person in the household will not prevent them qualifying for the Household Benefits Package.

In Budget 2020, it was announced that for Household Benefits Package applicants aged under 70 who are on a qualifying payment, another adult (except for the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of applicant) living in the household will no longer be a disqualifying condition for the purposes of the Household Benefits Package. Therefore, the status and income of the members of a household (except for the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of applicant) does not prevent a Household Benefits Package applicant from receiving the package.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.