Fuel Allowance
Table of contents Fuel Allowance Keeping well and warm in winter Rules to qualify Rates How to apply – *All information from CitizensInformation.ie Fuel Allowance A Fuel Allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating your home during the winter months. It is paid to people who […]Table of contents
– *All information from CitizensInformation.ie
Fuel Allowance
A Fuel Allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating your home during the winter months. It is paid to people who are dependent on long-term social welfare payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. Only one Fuel Allowance is paid to a household.
The 2016-2017 Fuel Allowance season starts on Monday 3 October 2016 and ends on Friday 31 March 2017. Fuel Allowance is paid with your social welfare payment on the day that you are usually paid.
Some UK pensioners living in Ireland may be eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment from the UK. You can find out more from gov.uk.
Keeping well and warm in winter
Coping with cold weather can be difficult especially if you are older or have a disability or a long-term illness. The Keeping Well and Warm website gives information and advice about the supports available to help you and your household keep well and warm during the winter.
Rules to qualify
You may qualify for a Fuel Allowance if you are getting:
- State Pension (Contributory) or State Pension (Non-Contributory)
- Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension or Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension
- Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme
- Blind Pension
- Invalidity Pension
- Disability Allowance
- Deserted Wife’s Benefit or Allowance
- One-Parent Family Payment
- Guardian’s Payment (Contributory) or Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory)
- Farm Assist
- Pre-Retirement Allowance
- Prisoner’s Wife’s Allowance
- Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance for 456 days (over 15 months – it is paid on a 7-day week basis so 15 months’ payment is reached on day 455)
- Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) for 391 days (over 15 months – it is paid on a 6-day week basis so 15 months’ payment is reached on day 390). Fuel Allowance is payable to people who have been getting a jobseeker’s payment for 391 days, if they satisfy the relevant qualifying conditions. Days of unemployment on Jobseeker’s Benefit count towards the 391 days if the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim was immediately before the award of Jobseeker’s Allowance. You can keep your Fuel Allowance if you move from One-Parent Family Payment, Carer’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Transitional payment to JA.
- Jobseeker’s Transitional payment
- Death Benefit under the Occupational Injuries Scheme
- Social Security Pension from an EE/EEA country or a country with whom Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement (provided there is an equivalent Irish payment).
- Or if you are taking part in certain schemes – Back to Work Allowance, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA), Rural Social Scheme, Tús, JobBridge, Revenue Job Assist or Community Employment and are entitled to keep your secondary benefits
And
You live alone or only with:
- A dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and/or dependent children
- Other people getting one of the qualifying payments who would also be eligible for a Fuel Allowance in their own right
- A person who is getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Benefit and is caring for you or for your dependent spouse, partner or cohabitant
- A person getting short-term Jobseeker’s Allowance or basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance
And
You and other members of your household are unable to provide for your heating needs from your own resources.
You will not qualify for a Fuel Allowance if:
- Your heating needs are met under a deed transferring property
- You live with someone who is not getting one of the qualifying payments for the Fuel Allowance
- You are on a contributory payment and have income above the means test limits (see below)
– For further details on rules to qualify for fuel allowance, means testing, and more, visit Citizens Information today.
Rates
The Fuel Allowance is €22.50 per week.
How to apply
To apply for Fuel Allowance, fill in application form NFS 1 (pdf). This application form is also available from your local post office.
If you apply for the Fuel Allowance after the start of the heating season (in October), the allowance will not be backdated.
If you are getting a payment from the Department of Social Protection or a social security payment from a country covered by EC Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement, the Fuel Allowance will be included in your weekly payment. You do not need to reapply for the Fuel Allowance each year as long as, your circumstances remain the same and you continue to get the same social welfare payment.
If you are not getting a social welfare payment, your Fuel Allowance can be paid directly into your account in a financial institution or you can collect the allowance at your local post office.
- For details on where to apply, visit Citizens Information today: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/extra_social_welfare_benefits/fuel_allowance.html
*“Contains Irish Public Sector Data licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence”.