Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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1764. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will ensure households are able to purchase the essential energy they need to stay warm and well, and raise the fuel allowance by €9.50 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41208/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of financial supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives, and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock.The Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine improvements to key ancillary benefits such as the Fuel Allowance, Household Benefits Package and Living Alone Increase to support vulnerable groups. This is an ongoing activity as part of my Department's budget planning each year and I will continue, as part of the budget planning process, to consider if improvements can be made to ensure that these benefits continue to target vulnerable groups.

The provision of any increase to the rate of Fuel Allowance, such as those outlined by the Deputy, would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.