408. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of abolishing the waiting period of a year for fuel allowance for those on jobseeker's allowance. [67029/26]

Fuel Allowance eligibility encompasses 22 qualifying schemes, demonstrating the comprehensive nature of the support available to eligible households. In addition to these qualifying schemes, people over 66 do not need to be in receipt of a payment from this Department to qualify for Fuel Allowance, subject to satisfying a means test. According to the latest CSO data, there are just over 1.8 million households in Ireland. Of these, 463,910 households are eligible for the Fuel Allowance scheme, representing approximately 26% of all households nationwide.

The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. This ensures that the fuel allowance payment is targeted at those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources.

Approximately 33% of those in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance for over 312 days qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment.

Based on a similar percentage of those in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance for 312 days or less qualifying for the payment, the estimated cost of cost of the measure is as follows:

The costings are based on the number of recipients of Jobseekers Allowance for 312 days or less in August 2026 and are subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.

Any decision to adjust the rules of Fuel Allowance to allow the cohort of people outlined by the Deputy to qualify for Fuel Allowance would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.

While the criteria for Fuel Allowance is designed to ensure that those who require the support the most receive it, there will always be exceptional cases, and it is for this reason that the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.