Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
414. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the household benefits package to all cancer patients from the point of diagnosis to the cessation of treatment without means testing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29358/23]
View answerThe Household Benefits Package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €285 million this year on HHB for over 511,000 customers.
People over the age of 70 receive the HHB package, with one package provided per household. The package is also available to people living in the State aged 66-69 years who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments or who satisfy a means test. The package is available to some people under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.
Providing an accurate projection of the cost of the measure outlined by the Deputy is very difficult. My Department would require information on the number of people who are receiving, or will receive treatment for cancer and the expected duration of this treatment. Consideration would also have to be given to the fact that people who are receiving cancer treatment may already be in receipt of the HHB package based on their age or because they are in receipt of a qualifying Social Protection payment.
Therefore, my Department is not able to provide an accurate estimate cost of the measure outlined by the Deputy.
It is important to note that, in general, access to the HHB Package for those aged under 66 is a secondary benefit linked to a person being in receipt of certain primary Social Protection payments such as Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Blind Pension and Partial Capacity Benefit. As many illnesses or physical conditions have an impact ranging from mild to severe, entitlement to these social welfare schemes is not provided on the basis of a diagnosis but on the basis of the impact of that diagnosis on the individual concerned and in the case of Disability and Carer's allowance to an assessment of their means. In this way, resources can be targeted to people in most need.
Extending the eligibility of the HHB package to the cohort of people the Deputy has suggested would change the nature of the scheme and may generate the need for consideration of other cohorts. Accordingly, it would require additional funding and administrative staff and would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
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 and include help towards costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and are deemed to be necessary.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
