Social Welfare Schemes

Tuesday, 24 February 2026

Ceisteanna (723)

Aidan Farrelly

Ceist:

723. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications received, awarded and approved for supplementary welfare allowance grants in relation to fuel poverty and assistance with payment of outstanding energy bills over the past five years, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15010/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social Protection

The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income.

Table 1 below shows the number of Additional Needs Payments applications registered and awarded in respect of assistance towards heating and household bills.

The reporting of the scheme was revised in 2022 to extract more complete information, including the number of claims registered. Statistics on the number of Additional Needs Payments applications registered are not available for 2021.

My Department also publishes statistics on Additional Needs Payments in the Quarterly Statistics report, which is available on gov.ie.

The figures provided in Table 1 do not reflect the number of claims that have been disallowed, withdrawn, cancelled or are awaiting further information. Applications are assessed on the basis of identified need, income, available resources and essential expenditure. Applications continue to be submitted from individuals who may not qualify when assessed against this criterion, impacting the number of claims not paid.

In respect of 2022, it should be noted that the increase in payments reflected the increase in energy prices following the war in Ukraine, which escalated the number of Additional Needs Payment applications and subsequent payments made.

From 2023, other supports were made available, including energy credits, additional Fuel Allowance measures, a number of lump sum payments and double Child Benefit payments, reducing the need for Additional Needs Payments.

In addition to single Additional Needs Payments, my Department may also provide an ongoing Heating Supplement where a person has need for additional heating due to ill health or infirmity. At the end of January 2026, just over 680 heating supplements were in payment.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Table 1 Number of Additional Needs Payments registered and awarded in respect of assistance towards Heating and Household Bills

-	2021	2022	2022	2023	2023	2024	2024	2025	2025
COUNTY	Awarded	Registered	Awarded	Registered	Awarded	Registered	Awarded	Registered	Awarded
CARLOW	31	228	90	189	109	119	59	147	38
CAVAN	38	345	222	192	106	147	69	166	59
CLARE	44	274	154	252	151	161	70	192	67
CORK	353	1,007	613	1,125	648	756	419	952	430
DONEGAL	147	840	509	517	305	348	142	350	131
DUBLIN	207	1,062	555	1,642	751	1,123	548	1,377	372
GALWAY	78	501	188	402	204	319	123	383	85
KERRY	144	522	242	440	263	289	152	326	127
KILDARE	57	288	114	364	144	254	88	244	35
KILKENNY	80	357	207	268	142	146	58	158	28
LAOIS	37	195	103	231	124	107	38	133	39
LEITRIM	79	239	180	198	134	118	57	130	61
LIMERICK	90	341	163	388	179	245	100	292	80
LONGFORD	82	814	690	649	438	311	205	310	130
LOUTH	67	267	138	264	117	188	80	303	88
MAYO	65	518	230	360	205	291	117	352	138
MEATH	106	625	507	689	543	416	247	453	193
MONAGHAN	9	84	58	79	35	88	51	111	43
OFFALY	33	317	248	273	158	163	44	157	30
ROSCOMMON	42	259	119	210	111	139	61	151	56
SLIGO	91	305	172	235	148	134	60	170	68
TIPPERARY	257	679	413	481	217	312	113	344	89
WATERFORD	38	209	101	252	124	189	67	236	45
WESTMEATH	63	207	134	258	129	146	65	172	35
WEXFORD	69	506	233	497	258	302	123	354	96
WICKLOW	50	199	87	210	88	148	64	216	66
UNSPECIFIED	0	8	2	8	1	6	1	7	2
TOTAL	2,357	11,196	6,472	10,673	5,832	6,965	3,221	8,186	2,631