Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
899. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection the qualifying criteria for the fuel allowance; if it is correct that any form of income from work in a household will disqualify an applicant; if she agrees that the fuel allowance should be subject to a straight means test at all times, whether income is derived from work or social welfare; and if she will agree to a full review of the eligibility criteria for fuel allowance. [57019/23]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at a cost of almost €502 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to provide targeted assistance to households for their energy costs.
The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the fuel allowance payment, a person must satisfy all the qualifying criteria including a means test, the household composition criteria and be in receipt of a qualifying payment (if aged under 70). The full list of qualifying conditions can be found on gov.ie.
While to qualify for Fuel Allowance a household must satisfy a means test, in the case of households where all members are receiving qualifying non-contributory payments, then the means test is deemed satisfied, even if members of the household have additional earnings from employment.
However, if a member of the household is in receipt of a qualifying contributory payment or are aged over 70 and not in receipt of a Social Welfare payment, then a means test must be carried out. Not all income or means are included when assessing a household means for Fuel Allowance purposes. For example, when assessing capital means, the first €20,000 is disregarded for those under 70 and the first €50,000 for those aged 70 or older.
The weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 is €200 above the appropriate rate of State Pension (Contributory), while the allowable weekly means for those aged over 70 is €512 for a single person and €1,024 for a couple.
Where a person on a contributory Social Welfare payment resides with household members in receipt of non-contributory Social Welfare payments, income from the non-contributory payments is disregarded for the purpose of calculating entitlement to Fuel Allowance.
Any decision to amend the fuel allowance qualifying criteria in the manner outlined by the Deputy would represent a fundamental change to the nature of the scheme, which would result in significant additional budgetary requirements and, as such, it would have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.
Finally, my Department provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an essential need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
