Written Answers Nos. 867-870
867. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps he is taking to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to examine improvements to key ancillary benefits, such as the fuel allowance, household benefits package and living alone allowance, to support vulnerable groups. [12594/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs referenced by the Deputy, the Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine key ancillary benefits such as the Fuel Allowance, Household Benefits package and Living Alone Allowance to support vulnerable groups.
This is an ongoing activity as part of the Department's budget planning each year. As part of Budget 2026 a number of expansion measures were announced to the Fuel Allowance Scheme to make it more available to vulnerable cohorts and also to increase the amount of support they receive.
From January 2026, the weekly rate of Fuel Allowance was increased by €5 a week to €38, giving a total per recipient of €1,064 each year. This will support over 460,000 households with their energy costs, at an estimated cost of €486 million in 2026.
In recognition of the importance of helping low paid working families, I announced the extension of the Fuel Allowance payment to Working Family Payment recipients. This will benefit over 43,000 families and is a significant measure in tackling child poverty. This will be implemented from March 2026 and backdated to January 2026 fulfilling another commitment in the 2025 Programme for Government, to expand the eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to families in receipt of the Working Family Payment.
To support people with a disability to transition into employment, Budget 2026 also allows people on Disability Allowance and Blind Pension to retain Fuel Allowance for a period of 5 years if they leave the payment to take up employment from September 2026.
I will continue, as part of the budget planning process, to consider if improvements can be made to ensure that these benefits continue to target vulnerable cohorts. Any future decisions will, of course, have to take account of the availability of financial resources.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
868. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will conduct a review of the means test disregards for farm assist, with a view to better rewarding farmers who avail of the scheme for enterprise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12699/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFarm Assist is a statutory means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. There are approximately 3,220 claims in payment at present. Government has provided almost €44 million for the scheme in 2026.
The assessment of means for the purpose of qualifying for Farm Assist is designed to reflect the actual net income from farming. Income and expenditure figures for the preceding year are generally used as an indicator of the expected position in the following year. However, account is taken of any exceptional circumstances to ensure that the assessment reflects the current situation accurately.
The means test for Farm Assist is more generous than that which applies under Jobseeker's Allowance. Income from different sources is assessed in different ways, and various disregards are applied as set out in the examples below.
Income from a number of agri-environmental schemes attracts a disregard of €5,000, increased from €2,540 from January 2023, with 50% of the balance then being assessed as means. A Review into the means test disregards for Farm Assist completed in 2021 recommended that that the list of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for the disregard should be significantly increased. The list has been expanded since then from 4 schemes to 29 schemes. I am committed to working with my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to keeping this disregard under review in the context of Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027
There are also annual disregards for dependent children; €254 for each of the first two children and €381 for the third and other children. Remaining farm income and income from off-farm self-employment is then assessed at 70%, with 30% disregarded. In comparison, under the Jobseeker's Allowance scheme self-employed income is assessed at 100%.
Any further improvements to the Farm Assist scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary context, within the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements and with consideration to other social welfare schemes.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
869. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps being taken on the Government commitment to introduce pay-related parent's benefit; a timeline for the introduction of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12702/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government commits to introducing Pay-Related Parent's Benefit and exploring other payments where a similar model could be applied.
My Department will draw on the operational experience and learnings from the first year implementation of Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit, introduced on 31 March 2025, to inform the examination of a pay-related approach for Parent's Benefit and other schemes.
I intend to issue a public consultation document later in the year to support this process and to assist in the development of any future proposals.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
870. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the number of applications that his Department has received in 2026 under the emergency response payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12734/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra871. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the number of applications that his Department has fully processed and paid out in 2026 under the emergency response payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12735/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra872. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the number of applications that his Department has received in 2026 and have not yet been paid out under the emergency response payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12736/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra873. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the number of applications that his Department has received in 2026 but were rejected under the emergency response payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12737/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra874. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the total amount paid out to date in 2026 under the emergency response payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12738/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 870, 871, 872, 873 and 874 together.
The Emergency Response Payment assists in minimising hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are unable to meet emergency costs for essential needs, household items and structural repair.
As of 14 February, payments under the scheme totalling just over €130,200 have been issued in the year 2026. Details on the breakdown of these payments is provided in the tabular statement below.
If any household affected by the recent weather events needs to access these supports, they can contact the Community Welfare Service by phoning 0818 60 70 80.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Tabular Statement
Table 1- Number of claims received, awarded, pending, disallowed, and total paid year to date as of 14 February 2026.
|
Total Claims Received |
Claims Awarded |
Claims Pending |
Claims Disallowed |
Total Paid |
|
310 |
178 |
77 |
47 |
€130,244.56 |
The figures do not reflect the number of claims that have been withdrawn or cancelled.
