Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2023
147. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider expanding the criteria of the household benefits package so that all cancer patients become eligible upon diagnosis, until their treatment is finished; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33039/23]
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.
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 would require additional funding and administrative staff and would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.
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.
