Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2018
228. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if eligibility for the household benefits package and the fuel allowance could be affected in a situation whereby the child of a parent who is in receipt of disability allowance commences employment. [39264/18]
View answerThe fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 27 weeks (a total of €607.50 each year) from October to April, to over 368,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.
To qualify for a fuel allowance under the fuel allowance scheme, a person must satisfy a number of criteria, including live alone or only with a qualified spouse/civil partner/cohabitant or qualified child(ren). For the purposes of fuel allowance and household benefits, a qualified child is one for whom an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) is payable.
If an IQC is no longer in payment for a son or daughter who commences work and is not in receipt of a qualifying or disregarded Social Protection payment then entitlement to the fuel allowance payment will be affected.
The household benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The package is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. For a child to be an excepted person for HHB purposes the claimant must be in receipt of an IQC for the child or the child is in receipt of a qualifying payment in their own right. If an IQC is no longer in payment for a son or daughter who commences work and who is not in receipt of a qualifying or disregarded Social Protection payment then entitlement to the HHB package will be affected.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
