Written Answers Nos. 1048-1071
1048. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a change can be made to the surname given to a child on their birth certificate when it was registered in error and in the absence of the child's mother (details supplied). [44913/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraRegistration of births in Ireland is provided for in Part 3 of the Civil Registration Act 2004. Once a registration has been completed it is not possible, other than in circumstances provided for in legislation, to change the details (including the surname) entered in the register of births.
One of the circumstances where a surname may be changed is when the birth of the child is re-registered, under section 23, to include the name of the father of the child where:
a. the mother and father were not married at the time of the birth, and
b. the father’s name was not included in the original registration.
A surname may also be amended, under section 63, to correct a clerical error or an error of fact. The details provided by the Deputy do not meet the criteria for a correction under this section.
While the surname in the register of births will remain unchanged, it is possible for a person to change their name by deed poll or to change it through common usage. Procedures for changing a person’s name may be found on the website of the Courts Service: http://courts.ie/Courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/075D7770C94358068025804B005C294B?opendocument&l=en
It is not possible to change details in the register of births on foot of a deed poll.
1049. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of an application for a disability allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44921/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that my department received an application for disability allowance from the person concerned on 20 September 2018. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and they will be notified directly of the outcome.
The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1050. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of a review in respect of eligibility for a disability allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44922/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis gentleman was requested to submit a medical report in order to review their disability allowance (DA) on 04 September 2018.
The information received was examined and a request for further medical evidence in support of their claim was issued to the person concerned on 19 October 2018. Once this information is received and a decision is made on the review this gentleman will be notified directly of the outcome.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1051. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a review in respect of eligibility for a disability allowance will be concluded in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44923/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraBased on the evidence supplied in support of this person’s application, her application for disability allowance (DA) was disallowed on the grounds that the medical qualifying condition was not satisfied. The person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 26 September 2018 and was also notified of their right to request a review of this decision or to appeal it to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
They requested a review of the decision by a deciding officer (DO) and submitted additional medical evidence for consideration on 02 October 2018.
This additional evidence is currently being reviewed. Once a decision has been made, the person concerned will be notified directly in writing.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1052. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of legislation to reverse changes to the way in which pension contributions are calculated which primarily affects those women that left the workforce for a time during their working life; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44925/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government intends to introduce a Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to establishing the level of entitlement for all new state pension contributory claims from 2020 onwards (TCA2020). I launched a public consultation on this proposal earlier this year in May, which closed last month. The consultation sought input on a range of relevant factors which included the amount of contributions needed for a full rate contributory state pension, the amount of credited contributions a person could avail of, the provision of Homecaring periods and whether there would be a "phase-in period" for the changes.
Following examination and consideration of the submissions to the consultation, my officials are preparing proposals for the design of the new approach for consideration by the Government in due course.
In the interim, on 23 January last, this Government agreed to a proposal that will allow pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands to have their pension entitlement reviewed and calculated on a Total Contributions basis, including provision for up to 20 years of a new home caring credit.
My Department is in the process of writing to the pensioners concerned to let them know how the review will work. There is no need for pensioners, or anyone on their behalf, to contact my Department about this. Once the necessary enabling legislation (contained in the Budget Bill) is enacted and the required systems and processes are ready, my Department will again make direct contact with the pensioners concerned about their individual reviews.
The Deputy should note that for those who do not qualify for the State Pension (contributory) (SPC), because they have paid few or no contributions into the Social Insurance Fund, there are other state pension payments available. Notably, they may qualify for the State Pension (non-contributory) which is a means-tested payment (based on their share of household means) with a maximum payment of 95% of the SPC. If their spouse has a contributory pension, they may qualify for an increase for a qualified adult (based on their own means), amounting up to 90% of a full rate SPC pension.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1053. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a decision will issue in relation to a carer's allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44940/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
A person can be considered to be providing full-time care and attention where they are engaged in employment, self-employment or on training courses outside the home for a maximum of 15 hours per week, provided that they can show to the satisfaction of a deciding officer that adequate care has been provided for the care recipient in their absence.
It is also a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have such disability that they require full-time care and attention.
This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself and likely to require that level of care for at least twelve months.
The application for CA was disallowed on the grounds that the person concerned was working outside the home for more than 15 hours per week and that the evidence submitted did not indicate that the requirement for full-time care was satisfied.
The person concerned requested a review of this decision and submitted additional evidence to support her claim with respect to establishing that her care recipient requires full time care and attention.
A request for additional information issued on 25 October 2018 to the person concerned in respect of the number of hours they are currently working.
Once the required information has been received and a decision made, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1054. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if system testing was carried out on the new information technology system for illness benefit; if so, the person or body that carried out the system testing; the reason the recent issues with the new system were not identified during the testing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44961/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOverall payment levels of Illness Benefit (IB) are now at their normal level. For information, in any one week, circa 50,000 customers are entitled to an IB payment. Last week, circa 54,000 customer payments were made, approximately 4,000 payments in excess of the normal level, and this includes some customers due arrears. For any customers with arrears outstanding, the Department would like to assure them that they will receive their back payments as soon as possible.
The Department can confirm that a normal level of payments will issue to IB customers this week. It is, however, important to note that there will always be some people who do not get paid in any given week. This is due to issues such as delays in receipt of claims and certificates, incorrectly completed certificates, human error, inconsistencies between the information submitted and the information already on file, the existence of another welfare payment for the main claimant or their dependants on the claim, all of which can lead to payments being suspended or delayed. This was always the case.
However, the Department acknowledges that the majority of the delays over the past few weeks were due to system and processing issues rather than normal levels of exceptions and would like to again apologise to the customers affected.
In August, the IB scheme migrated from an old legacy IT system approaching its end-of-life to a more up-to-date system already successfully used for many of the Department’s other payments. As part of this process, IB payments transitioned from a payment in arrears to a real-time payment model. This model was designed to provide quicker access to payments for customers and also to greatly reduce the manual processing work involved in administering IB claims. Unfortunately, although the majority of customers continued to receive payments, there were a number of unanticipated difficulties and some IB customers’ payments were adversely affected with delays and missed payments.
The Department would like to sincerely apologise for the difficulties and frustration experienced by customers who did not receive the correct IB payment or who experienced delays in their payments. The Department has been working hard over the past few weeks, and is continuing to work, to resolve any outstanding issues - allocating additional staff to IB claim work and developing a number of IT modifications to identify and rectify payment issues.
The Department conducted testing, including system testing, took place during all phases of the project. This included tests on claims migrating to the new system, generation of payments to customers and other functional business activities. Over 2,000 case scenarios were tested by business users and technical teams.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1055. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a back-up system or alternative plan was in place for the changeover to the new information technology system for illness benefit in case of potential difficulties arising; if so, the reason it was not able to alleviate the issues which occurred with the new system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44962/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOverall payment levels of Illness Benefit (IB) are now at their normal level. For information, in any one week, circa 50,000 customers are entitled to an IB payment. Last week, circa 54,000 customer payments were made, approximately 4,000 payments in excess of the normal level, and this includes some customers due arrears. For any customers with arrears outstanding, the Department would like to assure them that they will receive their back payments as soon as possible.
The Department can confirm that a normal level of payments will issue to IB customers this week. It is, however, important to note that there will always be some people who do not get paid in any given week. This is due to issues such as delays in receipt of claims and certificates, incorrectly completed certificates, human error, inconsistencies between the information submitted and the information already on file, the existence of another welfare payment for the main claimant or their dependants on the claim, all of which can lead to payments being suspended or delayed. This was always the case.
However, the Department acknowledges that the majority of the delays over the past few weeks were due to system and processing issues rather than normal levels of exceptions and would like to again apologise to the customers affected.
In August, the IB scheme migrated from an old legacy IT system approaching its end-of-life to a more up-to-date system already successfully used for many of the Department’s other payments. As part of this process, IB payments transitioned from a payment in arrears to a real-time payment model. This model was designed to provide quicker access to payments for customers and also to greatly reduce the manual processing work involved in administering IB claims. Unfortunately, although the majority of customers continued to receive payments, there were a number of unanticipated difficulties and some IB customers’ payments were adversely affected with delays and missed payments.
The Department would like to sincerely apologise for the difficulties and frustration experienced by customers who did not receive the correct IB payment or who experienced delays in their payments. The Department has been working hard over the past few weeks, and is continuing to work, to resolve any outstanding issues - allocating additional staff to IB claim work and developing a number of IT modifications to identify and rectify payment issues.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1056. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average waiting time for decisions on carer’s allowance, domiciliary care allowance payments and disability allowance; the number of persons awaiting decisions for such payments; the length of time in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44989/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. This is compounded if the documentary evidence provided at initial application stage is incomplete or insufficient; this is often the case with carer’s allowance applications.
Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested payment, made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that they require that level of care. An increased payment can be made where full-time care is being provided to two people.
At the end of September 2018 the Department had received 15,527 applications since January 2018 and there were 5,836 applications awaiting decision. The average waiting time in September for new CA applications was 17 weeks. Staff have recently been re-assigned to the CA area to work on claims processing and this should lead to a reduction in processing times.
Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance for people with a disability aged between 16 and 66 with a disability expected to last for at least one year and who satisfy the medical condition, means test and are habitually resident in Ireland.
At the end of September 2018 the Department had received 17,629 applications since January 2018 and there were 5,113 applications awaiting decision. The average waiting time in September for new DA application was 11 weeks.
Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, who requires ongoing care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. It is not means tested.
At the end of September 2018 the Department had received 6,776 applications since January 2018 and there were 1,444 applications awaiting decision. The average waiting time for new DCA application was 10 weeks.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1057. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications being processed for carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44990/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested payment, made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that they require that level of care. An increased payment can be made where full-time care is being provided to two people.
At the end of September 2018 there were 5,836 applications awaiting decision and the average waiting time for new CA application was 17 weeks.
Additional staff have recently been reassigned to the CA area to work on claims processing and this should lead to a reduction in processing times.
Before a decision can be made on entitlement CA, evidence must be provided in respect of the care recipient’s habitual residence in the State, the level of care the carer provided, the carer’s means and that the person being cared for has such a disability that they require full-time care and attention.
In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. This is compounded if the documentary evidence provided at initial application stage is incomplete or insufficient; this is sometimes the case with carer’s allowance applications.
The Department recently launched a re-designed CA application form. The new form includes a Care Report section which has been arrived at through consultation between officials and medical assessors of my Department and representatives and members of Family Carers Ireland. It is expected that the new form will allow carers to provide more information on the type and level of care they provide, with an aim to providing Deciding Officers with the information they need to expedite decisions on entitlement.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1058. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications being processed for disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44991/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraDisability allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance for people with a disability aged between 16 and 66 with a disability which is expected to last for at least one year and who satisfies the medical condition, means test and are habitually resident in Ireland.
The number of new claims pending at the end of September 2018 for DA was 5,113.
The Department is committed to ensuring that claims and reviews are processed as expeditiously as possible.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1059. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications being processed for domiciliary carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44992/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date in 2018, over 7,000 Domiciliary Care Allowance applications have been received, with 5,068 applications awarded so far this year.
Applications are being processed within 10 weeks of receipt at present. Currently, there are 1,444 applications on hand with those received in mid-late August 2018 being dealt with.
In 2017 a total of 8,197 applications were received, with 6,823 awarded that year.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
1060. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) will have to wait for payment of arrears in relation to an application for disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45036/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing an appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, the person concerned has been awarded disability allowance (DA) with effect from 22 November 2017.
The first payment was made by their chosen payment method on 17 October 2018.
The person concerned was in receipt of another social welfare payment from 22 November 2017 to 16 October 2018. The amount paid during this period has been deducted from the DA arrears and the arrears due issued to them on 26 October 2018.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1061. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a review and oral hearing into the pension entitlements of a person (details supplied) has been carried out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45038/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 26 September 2018. At the hearing the Appeals Officer requested further information from the person concerned. That information has now been provided and the Appeals Officer is considering the appeal in the light of all of the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the oral hearing. The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision when the appeal has been determined.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1062. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons engaged on JobPath who have taken up places on community employment schemes, the rural social scheme or Tús since June 2018. [45043/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, customers of my Department who are engaged with the JobPath service have, from 1st June 2018, the option of taking up a placement on CE and Tús while continuing to engage with the JobPath service. This change ensures that jobseekers can benefit from the job-seeking support of the JobPath service while also availing of a part-time work placement provided by Tús or CE.
As the current selection process for JobPath excludes jobseekers categorised as self-employed including those actively farming or fishing, those eligible for RSS should not be impacted by this change once my Department is aware of their farming and fishing activities.
My Department's records indicate that since June 2018, 784 persons engaged on JobPath have taken up places on CE and 511 of those engaged on JobPath have started with Tús .
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputies.
1063. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the payment of illness benefit in the case of a person (details supplied) has been stopped; when a payment will be issued including arrears due; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45054/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Illness Benefit claim for the person concerned has been awarded and all arrears owing to her have been issued.
She is currently certified to 7th November 2018 and her payments are up to date. If she remains unfit for work, a further medical certificate should be forwarded to the Department as soon as possible so that any further payments due can issue.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1064. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for the delay in providing illness benefit to those who are entitled to it; the number of persons experiencing delays in illness benefit payments; the average delay; the longest delay; the value of illness benefit payments that have been delayed; and the reason it has become impossible to make phone contact with the providers of illness benefit. [45056/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOverall payment levels of Illness Benefit (IB) are now at their normal level. For information, in any one week, circa 50,000 customers are entitled to an IB payment. Last week, circa 54,000 customer payments were made, approximately 4,000 payments in excess of the normal level, and this includes some customers due arrears. For any customers with arrears outstanding, the Department would like to assure them that they will receive their back payments as soon as possible.
The Department can confirm that a normal level of payments will issue to IB customers this week. It is, however, important to note that there will always be some people who do not get paid in any given week. This is due to issues such as delays in receipt of claims and certificates, incorrectly completed certificates, human error, inconsistencies between the information submitted and the information already on file, the existence of another welfare payment for the main claimant or their dependants on the claim, all of which can lead to payments being suspended or delayed. This was always the case.
However, the Department acknowledges that the majority of the delays over the past few weeks were due to system and processing issues rather than normal levels of exceptions and would like to again apologise to the customers affected.
In August, the IB scheme migrated from an old legacy IT system approaching its end-of-life to a more up-to-date system already successfully used for many of the Department’s other payments. As part of this process, IB payments transitioned from a payment in arrears to a real-time payment model. This model was designed to provide quicker access to payments for customers and also to greatly reduce the manual processing work involved in administering IB claims. Unfortunately, although the majority of customers continued to receive payments, there were a number of unanticipated difficulties and some IB customers’ payments were adversely affected with delays and missed payments.
The Department would like to sincerely apologise for the difficulties and frustration experienced by customers who did not receive the correct IB payment or who experienced delays in their payments. The Department has been working hard over the past few weeks, and is continuing to work, to resolve any outstanding issues - allocating additional staff to IB claim work and developing a number of IT modifications to identify and rectify payment issues.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1065. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will be awarded an illness benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45083/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned is a qualified adult on her spouse's social welfare claim. This overlap is being adjusted and any arrears due will issue in the coming days.
An official from my Department will contact the customer to advise her of the current position.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1066. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for the delay in processing an application for partial capacity benefit by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45091/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for Partial Capacity Benefit was received from the person concerned on 11th July 2018.
A decision will be made on her application next week and she will be informed of the outcome then.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1067. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding an invalidity pension appeal by a person (details supplied); the action she will take to ensure this appeal is processed as efficiently as possible in view of the amount of time it has been with the social welfare appeals office and the circumstances the person is enduring; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45096/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has made a summary decision to allow the appeal. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer's decision.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1068. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will be awarded illness benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45107/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned is a qualified adult on her spouse's social welfare claim. This overlap is being adjusted and any arrears due will issue in the coming days.
An official from my Department will contact the customer to advise her of the current position.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1069. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has not received a full illness benefit payment; the reason a weekly payment cannot be paid on a weekly basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45114/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Illness Benefit claim for the person concerned is certified to 25th November 2018 and payments are currently up to date. If the customer remains sick and unfit for work after that date, medical certificates should be forwarded to the Department as soon as possible to ensure that payments can continue to be made.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1070. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the report into seasonal workers in County Donegal will be published and made available in view of the fact that two budgets have passed since a commitment was made to examine barriers facing seasonal workers accessing social welfare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45132/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has prepared a report on jobseekers benefit scheme duration and seasonal and part-time workers who have subsidiary employment. It also examines the daily earnings limit of €12.70 that currently applies to employment classed as subsidiary. I am considering the report prepared by my Department and I intend to submit it to the Joint Oireachtas Committee shortly.
The Deputy is aware that I recently met with a representative group of workers from the Donegal area who are currently engaging with officials in my Department.
1071. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a route exists by which a person can qualify for the fuel allowance on medical grounds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45149/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €630 each year) from October to April, to over 368,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.
My Department also pays an electricity or gas allowance under the household benefits scheme at an estimated cost of €182 million in 2018.
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. Therefore to receive the fuel allowance a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department and also have satisfied a means test. A person cannot qualify for the fuel allowance payment on medical grounds alone.
Qualifying schemes for fuel allowance include disability allowance, invalidity pension, blind pension and incapacity supplement under the disablement pension scheme. These are schemes for which a recipient must have a long term disability or health issue to qualify for them.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, exceptional needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources and this may include exceptional heating costs.
Any decision to extend the eligibility criteria for the fuel allowance scheme to include people who are not on a qualifying payment would require considerable extra funding for the scheme and would have to be considered in overall budgetary negotiations.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
