Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 December 2022
267. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person who qualifies for the fuel allowance will lose their entitlement to the allowance if they rent a room to a person who is not in receipt of any qualifying payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59928/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra268. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person who is in receipt of the fuel allowance will lose the allowance if they rent a room and provide care to a person who is not in receipt of any qualifying social welfare payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59929/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together.
The 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 purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household.
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 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.
Earlier this year, I was pleased to announce a series of measures which will remove barriers facing social welfare customers who choose to accommodate people in their homes.
I introduced a new means disregard of up to €14,000 per annum, in respect of those who rent a room in their home. This brings social welfare rules in line with the Rent a Room Relief Scheme, which has been operated for many years by the Revenue Commissioners. This new disregard means that a social welfare customer will be able to rent out a room in their home for up to €14,000 per annum and this income will not see their means-tested social welfare payment impacted. For schemes such as the Fuel Allowance Scheme, household composition rules continue to apply. Accordingly, the impact on entitlement to the Fuel Allowance will depend, in turn, on the consequences of the rental on the household composition. By way of illustration, if they took in a refugee and received the accommodation recognition payment, and the refugee was in receipt of a qualifying payment, this would not impact on their Fuel Allowance. But if they take in a working person, it would affect the household composition and thus affect entitlement to the Fuel Allowance.
Therefore, if a person who is in receipt of Fuel Allowance rents a room out to a non-qualifying/non disregarded person for Fuel Allowance purposes they may lose their entitlement to the payment. However, the rental income received should mean that that this contribution towards household costs by the person would compensate for any such reduction in payments from my Department.
There will always be exceptional cases and it is for this reason 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.
