Almost 80,000 Dubliners currently qualify for the fuel allowance with many more expected to be eligible in the coming months, a Dublin TD has said.
This season’s scheme will run for 28 weeks with 371,000 qualifying nationwide and 78,336 in the capital for the weekly subsidy of €33. A €400 additional lump sum payment to all households receiving the fuel allowance will also be paid on November 14, bringing the total value of this year's payment to €1,324 per household.
Budget 2023 announced a major expansion of the scheme, which will see 81,000 more people nationally become eligible next year. A new means test for over 70s will be available in January and the Department of Social Protection are currently working on IT systems to implement the changes.
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Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid West, Deputy Emer Higgins confirmed that tens of thousands of people in Dublin are now availing of the payment. “78,336 people in Dublin who are entitled to the fuel allowance will now be able to avail of it as we approach the winter," she said.
“The payment is made at the weekly rate of €33 or, by way of two lump sum payments if people prefer. In Budget 2023 my colleague Minister Humphreys also ensured a €400 additional lump sum payment for all households in receipt of the fuel allowance payment. This will be paid the week commencing 14 November 2022 and will bring the total value of the fuel allowance to €1,324 per household.
“In addition, as part of Budget 2023, Minister Humphreys secured funding for the largest ever expansion of the fuel allowance scheme. This expansion will bring many more Dublin households (81,000 more nationally) into the scheme. This will be of particular benefit for older people in our community with a new means test taking effect for over 70s from January."
Under the new means test, a single person can have an income of €500 per week and a couple can have an income of €1,000 per week. In the case of a couple where one person is aged under 70 and one person is over 70, they will be assessed under the over-70s criteria.
The weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 will also be increased by €80 per week, from €120 to €200 above the weekly rate of the State pension.
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