Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 October 2022
258. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider making the fuel allowance available to those person aged over 66 years with a disability (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52475/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. Only one allowance is paid per household.
The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to the Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the Fuel Allowance, an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a means test and satisfy the household composition criteria. This ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.
While the Department's schemes are reviewed on an ongoing basis there are no plans to grant automatic access to the Fuel Allowance payment without regard to the qualifying criteria set out above. Any decision to do so would change the targeted nature of the scheme and would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.
As part of the overall welfare Budget 2023 package of almost €2.2 Billion, I was delighted to announce a number of considerable reforms to the means threshold of the Fuel Allowance scheme which will benefit many pensioner households. These reforms include:
- From January 2023, a new means threshold will be introduced for people aged 70 years and over. The new means threshold will be €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple.
- From January 2023, the standard means test for persons under 70 will be increased by €80 from €120 to €200 over the maximum State Pension Contributory rate.
- From January 2023, the Disablement Benefit payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.
- From January 2023, the Half-Rate Carer's Allowance payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.
I would also like to highlight that 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.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
