A representative of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was quoted in the press last week stating that the society's big concern was that some people would need to juggle between paying for heat and eating this winter. He called for a doubling of the social welfare fuel allowance.
Fuel allowances are supplementary entitlements payable over the winter months to people in receipt of pensions and other qualifying social welfare schemes. Some 274,000 people receive this allowance at an aggregate cost of €85.4 million this year. Fuel allowances are incorporated in weekly pension and other basic payments. The adequacy of the total amount paid each week to an individual is what matters most to them, that is, the total value of the basic pension plus the fuel allowance.
The Government's objective is to ensure that a social welfare recipient's total weekly income is sufficient to meet all of their basic living needs, including food and heating costs. In recent years, very significant budget resources have been concentrated on providing real increases over and above inflation in all primary social welfare pension, benefit and assistance rates. This is a more costly approach than increasing fuel allowances because the increase is paid for the full year and not just for the 29 weeks of the winter heating season. This approach delivers a better outcome for pensioners and others by substantially increasing their income in real terms over the whole year, to better assist them in meeting their normal basic living costs, including heating.
In addition, the household benefit allowances for electricity or gas, costing €109 million in 2005, have also been increased fully in line with electricity and gas prices in the period. They are payable all year round to assist eligible pensioners, carers and disabled people with their heating and related costs. I acknowledge that some home heating costs generally have increased significantly over the past year in particular. For that reason, I am keeping the adequacy of the overall system, including the fuel allowance scheme, under close review. Given the significant potential extra scheme costs involved, any increases in fuel allowance rates are matters that have to be considered in the context of the forthcoming budget and the scale of general social welfare rate increases to be provided then.