Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

285. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a scheme will be put in place whereby people on employment schemes who are refused fuel allowance, as they came on to the scheme from a social welfare benefit payment as opposed to a means-tested payment, have their current means assessed to see if they are eligible for fuel allowance, as the current qualifying criteria is unfair to people on low incomes who went on to a scheme from a benefit-based payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26575/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment, a person aged under 66 must satisfy all the qualifying criteria including being in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a means test and 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.

Employment Support Schemes in themselves are not qualifying schemes for Fuel Allowance. Payment of Fuel Allowance while on these schemes has always been linked to what social welfare payment a participant was in receipt of prior to engaging in the Employment Support Scheme.

Short-term benefit payments such as Jobseekers Benefit and Illness Benefit are not qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance and when a person moves onto an employment support scheme from these payments, it remains the case that they cannot qualify for Fuel Allowance.

The provision of any additional supports such as extending the Fuel Allowance payment to this cohort would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

While the criteria for Fuel Allowance is designed to ensure that those who require the support the most receive it, there will always be exceptional cases. It is for this reason that my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.