Changes that have been made to the Fuel Allowance

CITIZENS Information Service are being inundated with queries about Fuel Allowance following the recent budget.

“Getting help with the cost of heating your home during the winter months is a big issue for a lot of people at the moment” says John Beausang and Yvonne Rayner, Cork City’s Citizens Information Managers.

You may get Fuel Allowance, if you are getting a long-term social welfare payment and your income is below a certain amount.

“Fuel Allowance is currently being paid from the week starting Monday, 26 September 2022. It will be paid for 28 weeks and the current rate of Fuel Allowance is €33. If you qualify for the allowance, it is generally paid with your social welfare payment on the same day. Many recipients can choose to get the Fuel Allowance paid weekly or paid in 2 lump sums, whichever suits best” confirmed John and Yvonne.

The first lump sum is paid at the start of the start of the Fuel Allowance season. The second lump sum is paid in January. Currently the lump sum option is not available if you are getting payments under the Rural Social Scheme, Tús and Community Employment or Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

Budget 2023:

Budget 2023 confirmed that people getting Fuel Allowance will get a once-off payment of €400. This will be paid the week starting November 14.

“The income thresholds will also increase in January 2023 so it is quite possible that you may not qualify for the payment now, but will qualify in January. If you aren’t sure about whether or not you meet the conditions of the payment, either now or in January, please give your local Citizens Information Centre a call,” advised John and Yvonne.

The income threshold for Fuel Allowance will increase by €80 from €120 to €200 in January 2023. For people aged over 70, it will increase to €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple in January 2023. Also of note is the fact that Disablement Benefit and half-rate Carer’s Allowance will be disregarded in the means test for Fuel Allowance in January 2023.

In terms of qualifying for the Fuel Allowance payment, you need to be in receipt of a qualifying payment and you must live alone or only with:

A dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and/or dependent children

A person who is getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Benefit and is caring for you or for your dependent spouse, partner or cohabitant on a full-time basis

A person getting short-term Jobseeker’s Allowance or basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance

Other people who are getting the qualifying payments and who would also be eligible for a Fuel Allowance in their own right

You or other members of your household must be unable to provide for your heating needs.

Fuel Allowance is a means-tested payment. It is worth noting that you are usually accepted as passing the means test for Fuel Allowance, if you are already getting a qualifying social assistance payment.

“In a means test, the Department of Social Protection (DSP) examines all your sources of income. Your gross weekly income must be below a certain amount to pass the means test,” said John and Yvonne.

Some income can be disregarded in the means test. Details on this are on our website www.citizensinformation.ie

But if you would like an experienced member of staff to go through this with you and calculate your means, then please give us a call. If you get through to an answering machine, please leave your first name and phone number and you will get a call back as soon as an information provider is available.

How to apply for Fuel Allowance

If you are applying for the first time you need to fill in an application form NFS 1 and they are available at our centres or online. We can post one out to you if you can’t pop in to collect one.

Be sure to mention what payment you are getting as we will need to give you the correct address of where to send your application – the form needs to be returned to the section that pays your main social welfare payment.

A couple of points to note, if you apply for Fuel Allowance after the start of the Fuel Allowance season, it won’t be backdated. You don’t need to reapply for Fuel Allowance each year as long as your circumstances remain the same and you continue to get the same social welfare payment.

Fuel Allowance is included in your weekly payment, if you are getting a social welfare payment but if you are not getting a social welfare payment, your Fuel Allowance can be paid directly into your account in a financial institution or you can collect the allowance at your local post office.

Our telephone lines in Cork City are monitored from 10am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. In addition, the Cork City Centre CIC in Cornmarket Street is open to the public from 10am to 12.30pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the Blackpool CIC is open to the public each morning from 10am to 1pm, Monday to Friday. Full details for all Citizens Information Centres and their opening times are available on our website.