Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 October 2020
318. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if former public servants who are not in receipt of a contributory State pension qualify for the living alone allowance and fuel allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30160/20]
View answerThe fuel allowance is a payment of €24.50 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €686 each year) from October to April, to an average of 352,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €261.35 million in 2020. 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.
My Department also pays an electricity or gas allowance under the Household benefits scheme at an estimated cost of €194 million in 2020. This is paid at a rate of €35 per month, 12 months of the year.
The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. A Public Service pension is not a qualifying payment for fuel allowance. Qualifying payments for those aged 66 or over include State Pension (Contributory or Non-Contributory), Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension (Contributory), Deserted Wives Benefit, Incapacity Supplement under the Disablement Pension Scheme, Death Benefit Pension under Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme as well as certain social security payments from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement. All other qualifying conditions must also be satisfied to receive the payment.
The Living Alone Increase is a €14 increase in the weekly rate of payment of certain Irish social protection payments, awarded where the recipient is living alone. For those aged 66 or over, payments include State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory) , Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Widow's/Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme, Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme and Deserted Wife's Benefit. It is not a stand-alone payment. There are no circumstances where the living alone increase can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department.
Any decision to allow former Public Servants who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment to receive the fuel allowance or the living alone increase would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, exceptional needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet from their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
