Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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330. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current means test thresholds eligibility for the fuel allowance of persons aged over 66 years; the thresholds applicable to a single person and a couple; whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the appropriateness of these thresholds having regard to household heating costs and household composition; whether any review of the means test for fuel allowance is planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23345/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Following the announced Budget 2026 increases to primary Social Welfare payments, the allowable means for Fuel Allowance purposes for those aged 66 and over was increase by €10 for a single person to €534 and by €20 for a couple to €1,068. This ensured that no household lost entitlement to Fuel Allowance due to the increase to primary Social Welfare payments.

The increased allowable means threshold for people who are married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership, acknowledges that the overall cost of living for this cohort is higher than for a single person.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine 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 the 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.

Any further changes to the criteria for accessing the Fuel Allowance scheme would require additional funding for the scheme and therefore any decision to increase the Fuel Allowance thresholds would have to form part of overall budgetary negotiations.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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331. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the first and full year cost of increasing the income threshold of the fuel allowance by 10%, 20% and 30% respectively, in tabular form; to provide an estimate of the number of applicants each threshold increase would incorporate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23365/26]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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333. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated number of additional households that will become eligible for the fuel allowance if the weekly means test thresholds were increased by 10%, 20% and 30%, broken down by the primary social welfare payment they are in receipt of, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23367/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 331 and 333 together.

My Department does not hold data on the means or household composition of all households in the State and, therefore, cannot provide a costing or expected numbers that might qualify due the measures outlined 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 Increase to support vulnerable groups. This is an ongoing activity as part of the 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.

Any further changes to the criteria for accessing the Fuel Allowance scheme would require additional funding for the scheme and therefore any decision to increase the Fuel Allowance thresholds would have to form part of overall budgetary negotiations.

There have been significant improvements made in recent years to the Fuel Allowance scheme. These improvements have resulted in many more households qualifying for the payment and have resulted in the Budget for the scheme increasing significantly with an estimated expenditure on the scheme in 2026 of €486 million compared to an expenditure of €290.45 million in 2020.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.