Irish households in receipt of the Fuel Allowance will receive an additional payment of €100 this week.
The government introduced the additional payment due to increasing energy costs in Ireland.
The first extra payment of €125 was paid in March 2022 before the government announced in April that a second additional payment would be made in one lump sum in May.
READ MORE: Social welfare questions, petrol checks and all the things that can be checked at garda checkpoints
The Fuel Allowance is aimed at helping people with the cost of heating their homes during the winter months.
You can get the Fuel Allowance if you are getting a long-term social welfare payment and you are unable to provide for your heating needs from your own resources.
However, only one Fuel Allowance is paid to a household.
The 2021-2022 Fuel Allowance season started September 27 and is expected to run for 28 weeks.
What do I need to qualify?
To qualify for the Fuel Allowance, you must be living alone or with certain people listed below, living in Ireland and getting one of the following qualifying payments:
Qualifying social insurance payments
- State Pension (Contributory)
- Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension
- Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme
- Invalidity Pension
- Guardian's Payment (Contributory)
- Death Benefit under the Occupational Injuries Scheme
- A pension or benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement (provided there is an equivalent Irish payment)
Qualifying social assistance payments
- State Pension (Non-Contributory)
- Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Contributory) Pension
- Disability Allowance
- Blind Pension
- Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance
- One-Parent Family Payment (OFP)
- Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)
- Farm Assist
- Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance for more than 455 days (over 15 months - it is paid on a 7-day week basis, so 15 months' payment is reached after day 455)
- Jobseeker's Allowance for more than 390 days (over 15 months - it is paid on a 6-day week basis, so 15 months' payment is reached after day 390).
- Jobseeker's Transitional payment (JST)
- If you are taking part in certain schemes - Back to Work Allowance, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA), Rural Social Scheme, Tús or Community Employment and are entitled to keep your secondary benefits
You must live alone or only with:
- A dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and/or dependent children
- 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 on a full-time basis
- A person getting COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), short-term Jobseeker's Allowance or basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance
- Other people who are getting the qualifying payments and who would also be eligible for a Fuel Allowance in their own right
And
You and other members of your household are unable to provide for your heating needs from your own resources.
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter .
