Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
81. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason people on benefit payments, who have worked and paid their taxes, are still not eligible for the fuel allowance or any cost-of-living benefits. [15409/23]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a means tested payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €412 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household.
It is incorrect to say that the Fuel Allowance is not available to benefit recipients. In fact, it is available to recipients of long-term benefit payments including pensioners and people with disabilities.
Some short-term benefit payments such as Jobseeker's Benefit, Illness benefit and Maternity Benefit are not, however, qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance. The reason for this is that Fuel Allowance is intended as a support for households with a long-term dependence on welfare payments. The schemes just mentioned are short-term payments for those who suffer a short period of interruption to their employment. These payments are not means-tested; the recipients still have an attachment to the labour force and there is an expectation that they will return to the workforce. However, as part of Budget 2023 some of these households in receipt of benefit payments, including those not eligible for Fuel Allowance, benefitted from many of the cost-of-living measures including increases to the maximum rate of core Social Welfare rates in January and from the double week in social welfare payments in October and December.
I recently announced a further range of measures to support families through this difficult period. This package includes a €200 lump sum payment which will be paid to over 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments including to those on Jobseeker's payments or Illness Benefit for over 12 months. This lump sum will be paid in April and will cost approximately €261 million.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
