Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 May 2022
297. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending the current weekly means testing amount of €120 qualifying to qualify for the fuel allowance by €5 per week. [25473/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying 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.
Taking account of the fact that the Fuel Allowance is a household based payment and that qualification is not just based on the means test but on a number of other qualifying criteria such as household composition, it is not possible for my Department to provide an accurate projection of the potential cost of the measure outlined by the Deputy. My Department also does not maintain records across all schemes of the amount by which unsuccessful fuel applicants are over the income threshold. It is also worth noting that many people above the existing income threshold may not make an application.
