Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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616. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost if the fuel allowance income limit for persons aged over 66 increased to €555 per week for a single person or €1,100 per week for a couple; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38790/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks. That is a total of €924 each year, available from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €400 million in 2025.

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 a means test and the household composition criteria. This ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment is targeted at 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.

There have been a number of expansions under recent Budgets to the Fuel Allowance to make it easier for those aged 66 and over to qualify for the payment. From January 2025 the enhanced Fuel Allowance measures previously available to those aged over 70, were extended to all those aged 66 or older and the allowable means was increased to €524 a week for a single person and to €1,048 a week for a couple.

Taking account of the fact that the Fuel Allowance is a household-based payment and that qualification is not just based on the means test but on a number of other qualifying criteria such as household composition, it is not possible for my Department to provide an accurate projection of the potential cost of the measure outlined by the Deputy.