Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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133. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps he is taking to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to examine improvements to key ancillary benefits, such as the fuel allowance, household benefits package and living alone allowance, to support vulnerable groups. [21603/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government has committed to protect core welfare rates while ensuring that available resources are targeted at vulnerable groups.

As referenced by the Deputy, the Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine key ancillary benefits such as the fuel allowance, household benefits package and living alone allowance to support vulnerable groups.

This is in fact an ongoing activity as part of the Department's budget planning each year. For example there have been a number of expansions under recent budgets to the Fuel Allowance Payment to make it more available to Vulnerable Groups.

In January 2023, enhanced Fuel Allowance measures for people aged 70 years and over were introduced. In Budget 2025, these enhanced Fuel Measures were extended to all those aged 66 or older.

These measures include a new means threshold of €524 for a single person and €1,048 for a couple. In addition, the amount of capital that is disregarded in the means test for Fuel Allowance was increased from €20,000 to €50,000. Savings over €50,000 are assessed on a proportionate basis only.

Other measures include:

• The weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 was also increased by €80 to €200 above the appropriate rate of Contributory State Pension.
• Disablement Benefit and Half-rate Carers Allowance payments are now disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.
• Disablement Benefit also no longer disbars a household from receiving the Fuel Allowance payment.
• Budget 2025 has also allowed for Carers Allowance to be considered a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance from January 2025.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.