Fule Allowance Questions

How do you get the Fuel Allowance?

To get Fuel Allowance you must:

• Live alone (or only with certain people listed below)

• Be getting a qualifying payment (unless you are 70 or over)

• Satisfy a means test

• You must also live in Ireland. You cannot get Fuel Allowance if your heating costs are provided in full as part of your accommodation.

• Live Alone

To get Fuel Allowance, you must live alone, or with:

• A spouse, civil partner or cohabitant who qualifies for an increase on your pension or social welfare payment, or is getting a qualifying payment in their own right

• Dependent children

• A person who gets Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit, and who is caring for you or for your spouse, partner or cohabitant, or for a qualified child dependant on a full-time basis

• A person getting short-term Jobseeker's Allowance (less than 312 days) or basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance (less than 364 days)

• A person getting a qualifying payment (for example, long-term Jobseeker’s Allowance) and who would be eligible for a Fuel Allowance in their own right

• A person aged 70 or over

• A person renting a room from you, where this doesn’t affect your entitlement to Fuel Allowance

• A person you provide accommodation to in your own home, and for whom you get the Accommodation Recognition Payment

What happens if more than one person in a household qualifies?

Only one Fuel Allowance payment is paid to a household. If more than one person in the household is getting a social assistance payment, you can decide who applies for Fuel Allowance.

If someone in the household is getting a qualifying social insurance payment, such as State Pension (Contributory) or Invalidity Pension, they should apply first (so a means test can be carried out on their income). Another qualifying person in the household can also apply for Fuel Allowance, but they must include information about the person getting a social insurance payment. If someone in the household is 70 or over, they should apply.

If you are 70 or over, you don’t need a qualifying payment to qualify for Fuel Allowance.

Social welfare payments are either based on your PRSI contributions (social insurance payments) or means-tested social assistance payments. The qualifying social insurance payments are:

• State Pension (Contributory)

• Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension

• Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme

• Invalidity Pension

• Guardian's Payment (Contributory)

• Death Benefit under the Occupational Injuries Scheme

• A pension or benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement (provided there is an equivalent Irish payment)

• The qualifying social assistance payments are:

• State Pension (Non-Contributory)

• Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Contributory) Pension

• Disability Allowance

• Blind Pension

• Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance

• One-Parent Family Payment (OFP)

• Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)

• Farm Assist

• Jobseeker's Transitional payment (JST)

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

You can qualify if you have been getting Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance for more than a year (this is 364 days over 12 months - it is paid on a 7-day week basis so 12 months’ payment is reached after day 364).

You qualify if you have been getting Jobseeker's Allowance for more than 312 days (over 12 months - it is paid on a 6-day week basis so 12 months’ payment is reached after day 312). Days on Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) and PUP can count towards the 312 days, if your JB or PUP was immediately before your JA claim.

You can keep your Fuel Allowance if you move to Jobseeker’s Allowance from One Parent Family Payment, Carer’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Transitional payment.

If you are getting Jobseeker’s Allowance, and your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is on a Community Employment (CE) scheme, they can be considered as a qualified adult on your payment if you apply for Fuel Allowance.

Employment or education support schemes

You can keep your Fuel Allowance if you were getting it before you started any of the following schemes:

• Back to Work Allowance

• Back to Education Allowance

• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA)

• Community Employment (CE)

• Rural Social Scheme (RSS)

• Tús

• CE, RSS and Tús

You can apply for Fuel Allowance at any point when you are on CE, RSS or Tús if you meet all the relevant qualifying conditions for Fuel Allowance. If you were getting a long-term qualifying payment before starting CE, RSS or Tús, you satisfy the qualifying payment requirement.

You do not qualify for Fuel Allowance if you are getting a half-rate payment in addition to a qualifying payment. This does not apply to half-rate Carer’s Allowance.