Fuel Allowance to be paid to 6,398 people in Sligo

THE national fuel allowance scheme for the 202223 season will help many households in Sligo with their winter heating costs.

Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, has announced the start of the National Fuel Allowance Scheme, which will be paid over 28 weeks.

Fine Gael TD and Minister of State, Frank Feighan has confirmed the Fuel Allowance will be paid for 28 weeks to 6,398 people in Sligo, with many more people in Sligo to qualify this year. He said: “6398 people in Sligo who are entitled to the Fuel Allowance will now be able to avail of it as we approach the winter.

“The payment is made at the weekly rate of €33 or, by way of two lump sum payments if people prefer.

“This will bring the total value of the Fuel Allowance to €1,324 per household.”

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 Sligo households (81,000 more nationally) into the scheme. This will be of particular benefit for older people with a new means test taking effect for over 70s from January.

“Under this new over 70s means test, a single person can have income of €500 per week and a couple can have income of €1,000 per week. In the case of a couple where one person is under 70 and one person is over 70, they will be assessed under the over-70s means test 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 State Pension Contributory.

“We, in Fine Gael, know that times are tough and we are ensuring we put more money in your pocket to help reduce the impact of the higher cost of living,” Deputy Feighan said.

The Department of Social Protection is now working on developing the necessary IT sys- tems and application forms to give effect to these changes from January.

The Fuel Allowance scheme is a means-tested payment to assist pensioners and other long- term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. The payment is a contribution towards heating costs.

The payment is made at the weekly rate of €33 or, if preferred, by way of two lump sum payments. It is paid over the winter season (28 weeks from late September to April in the 2022-2023 fuel allowance season).

Only one Fuel Allowance is payable per household.

The criteria for fuel allowance are framed to direct the limited resources available to the Department in as targeted a manner as possible. People who are in receipt of a qualifying contributory payment must also satisfy a means test. People on qualifying non-contributory payments are accepted as satisfying the means test.

THE IFA’s national president Tim Cullinan said the CAP strategic plan approved by the cabinet and announced for at least the third time, will undermine food production and contains unrealistic targets.

“The impact of the eco schemes along with further convergence, front loading and greater conditionality will hit a cohort of our most productive farmers the hardest,” Mr Cullinan said.

“A number of the new schemes, including the suckler cow, sheep and environmental schemes, are underfunded.

“The recent budget was a missed opportunity to rectify this,” he said.

“The environmental scheme ACRES needs significant changes to ensure it is workable for farmers,” he said.

The IFA president said Minister Hackett’s prediction of a fivefold increase in organic production in just five years was not realistic. “The capacity for the market to deliver a sustainable income for organic farmers is not currently there,” he maintained.

“As we have seen over the past 12 months, the landscape of farming and the economy can drastically change, and it continues to do so. “This plan needs to have flexibility and be adaptable to any future changes, this is something that Commissioner Wojciechowski also reiterated when he addressed IFA back in May,” Cullinan added.

RIGHT: Tim Cullinan.