Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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258. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide an update on the report commissioned by his Department on extending the fuel allowance to recipients of the working family payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25055/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My predecessor, in response to an amendment tabled at Committee Stage of the Social Welfare Bill, had asked the Department officials to review and research the potential extension of eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to those in receipt of the Working Family Payment, including an analysis of the impact of such a measure particularly on lone parent households.

Following the publishing of the Programme for Government 2025 which commits to expand the eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to families in receipt of the Working Family Payment, my Department's officials are updating the report to reflect this Government commitment.

The updating of the report is still ongoing and when finished, I will carefully consider its contents and any recommendations that it may contain as part of the budget planning process.

Any decisions to expand for the Fuel Allowance to those in receipt of the Working Family Payment will, of course, have to take account of the availability of financial resources.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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259. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he has considered implementing an individual means-test for social welfare payments rather than a household means-test, to ensure that people are only assessed on their own income and not that of their household’s; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25056/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has over 90 schemes and a significant number are means-tested schemes, each with their own means test. The means test plays a critical role in determining whether an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency – such as disability, unemployment or caring.

The means assessment includes income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions and maintenance payments. It also includes property owned, other than the family home, and capital such as savings, shares, and other investments.

Social welfare legislation provides that, for social assistance schemes, all income and capital (such as savings, investments and property other than the family home) belonging to the claimant and his or her spouse/partner, where applicable, are assessable for means assessment purposes.

If a claimant is married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, the Department will assess the couple's means when carrying out a means test for a social assistance payment. This is the case even if only one of the couple is actually claiming a payment.

The purpose of the means test is to ensure those individuals and couples with limited or no income or assets receive the most support from the State, while those with higher levels of income or assets provide for their own needs to a greater extent.

Implementing an individual, rather than household, means-test for social welfare payments would give rise to a situation where a person with significant household income would have an entitlement to a payment. This would not be compatible with the overarching policy of ensuring that social welfare expenditure is targeted to those who need it most.

Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. In particular, a number of changes to means testing which provide for higher income disregards have been introduced. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, a certain level of income from that work is not assessed in the means test.

Any changes to the means test could have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.