Joan Collins
Question:38. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that the fuel allowance has not been extended to working family payment recipients. [50629/22]
View answerThursday, 13 October 2022
Questions (38)
Written answers
The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. 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. Only one allowance is paid per household.
The Fuel Allowance is paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all or most of their income.
People on long term payments are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty. It is for this reason that the Department allocates additional payments, supports and resources such as Fuel Allowance to this cohort of claimants.
The Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly, tax-free payment available to employees with children. It gives extra financial support to families with children with rates depending on their incomes and family size. It is not considered a long-term Social Protection payment and recipients are in full time employment and are more likely to have additional resources. A person in receipt of the WFP can continue to receive the payment for 52 weeks even if their income increases.
While no provision was made in Budget 2023 to allow persons in receipt of the WFP to access the Fuel Allowance payment as part of the overall social welfare Budget 2023 package of €2.2 Billion, I was pleased to announce a number of measures in relation to the WFP. In November 2022, people receiving the WFP will get a once-off payment of €500 and in January 2023, the WFP income limits will increase by €40 across all family sizes.
For people parenting alone and who are on a social welfare scheme such as the One-Parent Family Payment, they may also receive the double-week payment in October and the Christmas Bonus in December.
Many of those on the WFP will also benefit from the non-social welfare cost of living measures announced in the Budget such as the enhanced electricity credit of €600 which will be applied to electricity bills.
Finally, the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.