Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2017
196. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a fuel allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40853/17]
View answerThe fuel allowance is payable to persons who receive certain qualifying social welfare payments. Carer's allowance is not a qualifying payment.
However, carers may qualify for fuel allowance if they are getting half-rate carer's allowance and another qualifying social welfare payment. Alternatively, if the carer resides with their care recipient, that care recipient may be in receipt of a qualifying payment and entitled to apply for the fuel allowance in their own right.
In this case, neither the person concerned nor the care recipient is in receipt of a qualifying payment.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, a weekly or monthly supplement may be paid to assist people whose means are insufficient to meet their needs in certain circumstances.
A special heating supplement may be paid to assist people who have special heating needs. A person may qualify for a heating supplement, if they can show that they have extra heating needs because of their age, medical condition or disability, are living alone or only with a dependent adult or dependent children and satisfy a means test.
In addition, exceptional needs payments (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his or her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is decided on the particular circumstances of the case. The person concerned could apply for these payments from her local community welfare service.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
