Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 November 2022
649. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if an exemption can be provided to a person with a disability who is receiving a birth negligence case settlement award, to enable an application for the winter fuel payment and the household benefit package; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54614/22]
View answerThe criteria for Fuel Allowance and the Household Benefits package are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. In general, to qualify for these benefits, an applicant aged under 70 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and in the case of Fuel Allowance satisfy a means test and satisfy the household composition criteria. This ensures that the payments go to those who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.
While the Department's schemes are reviewed on an ongoing basis, there are no plans to grant automatic access to these benefits without regard to the qualifying criteria. Any decision to do so would change the nature of the schemes and would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
