Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 28 May 1996

Vol. 466 No. 1

Written Answers. - National Fuel Scheme.

Liam Aylward

Question:

197 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will favourably consider extending the national fuel scheme for a further period in view of the inclement weather we have experienced since the scheme ended in mid April 1996. [10963/96]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The national fuel scheme assists certain householders who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. A payment of £5 per week is paid to eligible households for 26 weeks each year.

In recognition of the fact that it can be unpredictably cold in autumn and spring, the scheme is not confined to the winter months but runs for six months of the year, from mid-October to mid-April.

Last year I increased the income limit for the national fuel scheme by £5 per week. In this year's budget I announced a further £5 increase in the income limit which will take effect from October 1996. This means that a person may have a combined household income of £15 per week over the appropriate Irish maximum contributory pension rate or savings/investments of £8,000, and still qualify for the fuel allowance. The scheme is a fixed scheme; it is not temperature related. As a result there may be a small number of occasions when the allowance is not paid even though temperatures are unseasonably cold. However, as the scheme extends over six months of the year, this is likely to be the exception rather than the rule. Of course there will also be times when the allowance will be paid even though temperatures are above the seasonal norm.

In addition to the allowance available under the national fuel scheme, there is a facility available through the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs. Under that scheme a person who has exceptional heating costs, for example, due to ill health or infirmity, may qualify for a heating supplement. An application for a heating supplement may be made by contacting the local community welfare officer.

Any extension to the duration of the national fuel scheme would have cost implications and could only be considered in a budgetary context. It is estimated that to extend the scheme for one month would cost £7 million. In the five year period from 1989 to 1994 expenditure on the national fuel scheme increased by almost 54 per cent. This year a sum of £44.5 million has been set aside in the Estimates for the scheme.