Peadar Tóibín
Question:90. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of individuals who availed of the winter fuel allowance payment in each of the past five years and to date in 2023. [15130/23]
View answerTuesday, 28 March 2023
Questions (90)
Oral answers (11 contributions)
Irish energy poverty has reached record levels. Nearly one in three households is currently in fuel poverty. That is double what the figure was when the current Government was formed in 2020. It is a startling fact. Per capita, Ireland is now also considered one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, more affluent than every other country except Luxembourg. Does the Minister see anything wrong with the incongruity in that statement? Does she see anything wrong with a situation where we have nearly one in three families in fuel poverty yet Ireland is the second richest country in Europe?
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As he is aware, the fuel allowance scheme is a means-tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. The payment is made over the winter season from September to April at the weekly rate of €33 or, if preferred, by way of two lump-sum instalments, one in September and one in January. Only one fuel allowance is payable per household. Those who qualify for the payment do not need to reapply annually.
While we had made some improvements to the scheme in previous budgets, it was a key priority of mine and of the Government to expand the reach of the fuel allowance payment this year. In budget 2023, a more generous means test was introduced for those aged over 70, with a higher means threshold of €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple. Applicants aged over 70 no longer need to be receiving a qualifying social protection payment and the threshold for the capital disregard increased from €20,000 to €50,000. For those aged under 70, the means threshold was increased by €80 and is now €200 above the appropriate rate of State pension contributory for the household.
In relation to the number of individuals who are in receipt of fuel allowance, the Department generally collates these data on an annual basis. Over the past five years, at the end of December each year, the number of households supported by the fuel allowance scheme was as follows: 380,463 households in 2018; 369,255 households in 2019; 375,269 households in 2020; 374,861 households in 2021; and 393,767 households in 2022. Some 32,500 additional households have been awarded fuel allowance since the budget. Of these, over 24,000 are aged 70 or over. It should be noted that the number of recipients fluctuates as people join and exit the scheme, as their circumstances change. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
The Minister has provided startling information. At one level we have a big increase in population and a doubling of the number of families living in fuel poverty, yet the Government's response in real figures is such that in 2018 there were 380,000 households in receipt of fuel allowance and in 2022 the figure was 393,000. That is incredible. The number of people in receipt of fuel allowance has stayed practically stationary at a time of the worst fuel and energy crisis in the history of the State. Older people are sitting in the cold during the daytime and lying awake at night wondering if they can pay their bills. Many people are under serious pressure. I know older people who are not getting out of bed until later and going to bed earlier to save on fuel bills. Yet, the Government took its biggest slice of VAT on electricity ever last year. VAT on electricity went up 40% last year; there was a 40% increase in VAT receipts during the biggest energy crisis in the history of the State. The Minister must admit there is something seriously wrong. We have rigid figures of people in receipt of fuel allowance yet we have so many people suffering from fuel poverty.
The number of recipients of fuel allowance fluctuates as people join and exit the scheme and as their circumstances change. There was a significant drop in the number of recipients of long-term jobseeker's allowance from 2018 to 2019 and this is reflected in the number of this cohort who were also in receipt of fuel allowance. The number of long-term jobseeker's allowance recipients with fuel allowance fell from 59,961 in December 2018 to 48,689 in December 2019, which was a fall of 11,272 for the scheme. We expanded the fuel allowance in the most recent budget. The Deputy himself raised with me the number of people who were just marginally over the income threshold and they were excluded, whether it was €2 or €3. Then there was a big increase for the over-70s. They could earn up to €500 per week for a single person or €1,000 for a couple. We have expanded the scheme and over 32,000 more people have received the fuel allowance since the budget.
I am startled at these figures. The Minister mentioned fluctuating numbers of people receiving fuel allowance. The price of fuel is fluctuating upwards only. There has been a massive expansion in the number of people in fuel poverty yet we have rigid figures for the number of people in receipt of fuel allowance. The Minister talks about expansion of the means test. That is because there has been a massive increase in the cost of energy. The really frustrating thing about this is that the Government has two levers in its arsenal to effect change in this. The first is the VAT on fuel - the Government is taking more than ever - and the energy companies that are making enormous profits at the moment. The Government has also talked about imposing a windfall tax some time in the future. Why is it that Fine Gael only speaks in the future tense in relation to helping people? Why can it not talk in the present tense in terms of a proper windfall tax, easing the burden in taxation and making sure there is a real expansion in the fuel allowances that are given to people?
I am grateful to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to contribute. If one scheme worked in recent years, it was the rules and regulations the Minister introduced in respect of the fuel allowance scheme this year. Thousands of people aged over 70 who worked all their lives and had never qualified for fuel allowance before got into that scheme. If I was to ask the Minister to do one thing, it would be to consider bringing the age limit down in next year's budget, from 70 to 69, to let more people into the scheme. That is a great scheme, which has benefited the country.
I was listening to Myles Dungan the other night. A hundred years ago, the people of rural Ireland had to bring turf into Dublin to help families to heat their homes. Now we cannot cut turf in this country.
The day might come again when we need to cut turf to help out everybody in the country.
In response to Deputy Ring, regarding those aged under 70, I increased the threshold in the budget so that people can earn €200 on top of the contributory pension. People aged under 70 can earn up to €465 and still qualify for the fuel allowance. This Government did a lot in budget 2023 to assist people who need help with the cost of fuel. There was a budget package of €2.2 billion and a major expansion of the fuel allowance. There were also energy credits, which involved €400 being paid to all households in receipt of the fuel allowance payment last November. We also paid an earlier amount in April last year. There has been the provision of €1.3 billion in cost-of-living supports and eight different lump sums were paid before Christmas. There is now another cost-of-living package. There is an increase of €200 across the board for all long-term social welfare recipients. There was a €100 back-to-school allowance and €100 for anybody in receipt of child benefit. There have been a lot of supports. It is recognised that these supports are making a difference. The ESRI has said clearly that these lump sum payments are working.
There was a real cut in social welfare rates last year, if we take inflation into account.
Moreover, there was a €12 increase in social welfare rates at the beginning of the year.
Less than the rate of inflation.
They are working. People need the payments.
Questions Nos. 91 and 92 taken with Written Answers.