Catherine Connolly
Question:129. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of making the fuel allowance available for 32, 40 and 52 weeks per annum. [24153/24]
View answerWednesday, 29 May 2024
Questions (129)
Written answers
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 €382 million in 2024. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household.
At the end of December 2023, 411,395 household were in receipt of the Fuel Allowance payment. Based on similar numbers of households qualifying for the Fuel Allowance Payment during the 2024/25 fuel season and a weekly rate of payment of €33 the estimated cost of making the fuel allowance available for 32, 40 and 52 weeks per annum is as follows: -
|
Number of Additional weeks |
No. of Recipients |
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
|
4 (32 weeks) |
411,395 |
€33 |
€54.304 million |
|
12 (40 weeks) |
411,395 |
€33 |
€162.912 million |
|
24 (52 weeks) |
411,395 |
€33 |
€325.824 million |
The provision of any additional supports such as extending the Fuel Allowance season would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.