Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has announced an expansion of the Fuel Allowance to employment support scheme participants, including those on the Rural Social Scheme.
For the upcoming Fuel Allowance season, the period a person spends on an employment support scheme will count towards the qualifying period for Fuel Allowance.
These employment support schemes include the Community Employment (CE) scheme, Tús, and the Rural Social Scheme.
The measure will benefit those that leave a qualifying social welfare payment (including the State Pension, Disability Allowance, Farm Assist and Jobseekers’ Transitional Payment) to engage in an employment support scheme.
Those who move onto a qualifying social welfare payment or Fuel Allowance, following completion of an employment support scheme, will also be able to use the period spent on the employment support scheme to satisfy the payment period requirement for Fuel Allowance.
The 2024/2025 Fuel Allowance season will begin on September 23 and will end on April 4. The Fuel Allowance assists households with their heating costs. The payment is made at the weekly rate of €33 for 28 weeks and only one allowance is paid per household.
It is a means tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare recipients with their winter heating costs. It is estimated that the scheme will see a total of €382 million paid out over the course of the calendar year 2024.
Commenting on the expansion of the scheme to people on employment support schemes, Minister Humphreys said: “I absolutely recognise the vital role that CE, Tús and Rural Social Scheme workers play in local communities right across the country.
“They support a range of vital local services in areas such as childcare; meals on wheels; the maintenance and upkeep of local amenities and sports facilities; and other valuable work in our communities,” the minister added.
“Taking part in these programmes is good for people’s physical and mental health and it helps them on the road to getting back into employment. These workers do wonderful work in our communities and I am delighted to make this change today to support them,” Minister Humphreys commented.