Fuel Allowance

Information

A Fuel Allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating your home. It is paid to people who are dependant on long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive (HSE) payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs.

The scheme operates for 32 weeks from the end of September to May.

Only one payment is paid to a household.

Rules

You may qualify for a fuel allowance if you are getting:

• State Pension (Contributory) or State Pension (Non-Contributory)
• State Pension (Transition) 
• Widow's or Widower's (Contributory) Pension or Widow's or Widower'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
• Long-term Jobseeker's Allowance (15 months)
• Infectious Diseases Maintenance Allowance
• Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance
• Social Security Pension from an EE/EEA country or a country with whom Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement
• Special Department of Defence Allowance
• You are taking part in Back to Work Allowance (BTWA), Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA), Rural Social Scheme, Revenue Job Assist or FÁS Community Employment and are entitled to keep your secondary benefits

And

You live alone or only with:

• A dependent spouse/partner 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 gives you full-time care and attention if you have a disability
• Person(s) getting short-term Jobseeker's Allowance
• Person getting Carer's 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
• In the case of non means-tested payments, you and members of your household have savings and investments of more than €58,000 or a combined weekly income of more than €100 above the appropriate maximum State Pension (Contributory) for your situation.

If you are getting a pension/benefit or equivalent payment from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement, you may qualify for a fuel allowance provided you satisfy the qualifying conditions mentioned above and you are:

• Resident in Ireland

And

• Aged 66 or over

Or

• Under the age of 66 and getting an Invalidity Pension/benefit (for over 12 months), a Widow's or Widower's Pension or an equivalent payment from another country.

Where two or more people who each qualify for a Fuel Allowance are living in the same household, a single Fuel Allowance will only be paid to one qualified person in that household. The table shows who should apply for a Fuel Allowance in the case of two or more qualifying individuals living in the same house.

Payment	Person who should apply for the fuel allowance
Social welfare pension and long-term Jobseeker's Allowance	Social welfare pensioner
Pre-Retirement Allowance and social welfare pension	Social welfare pensioner
Pre-Retirement Allowance and long-term Jobseeker's Allowance	Person receiving Pre-Retirement Allowance
Pre-Retirement Allowance and Health Service Executive (HSE) payment	Person receiving Pre-Retirement Allowance
Long-term Jobseeker's Allowance and HSE payment	Long-term unemployed person
Social welfare pension and HSE payment	Social welfare pensioner
Social welfare pension and social security payment from another country	Social welfare pensioner
Social security payment from another country and Long-term Jobseeker's Allowance	Social security pensioner
Social security payment from another country and HSE payment	Social security pensioner

Rates

The Fuel Allowance is €20 per week.

You may get a Smokeless Fuel Allowance if you live in certain areas where the sale of bituminous (smoke-causing) fuel is banned.

How to apply

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 (the last week in September), the allowance will not be backdated.

If you are getting a payment from the Department of Social and Family Affairs 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 using your social services card.

Where to apply

Complete and return the form to the section that pays your social welfare payment, as set out below.

If you are getting one of the following payments: 

• Invalidity Pension
• Pre-Retirement Pension
• Disability Allowance
• Incapacity Supplement

Send your application to:


If you are getting one of the following payments:

• Widow's or Widower's (Contributory) Pension
• Widow's (Non-Contributory) Pension
• Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance
• State Pension (Contributory or Non-Contributory)
• State Pension (Transition)
• Blind Pension
• Prisoners Wife's Allowance
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Guardian's Payment (Contributory)
• Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)

Send you application form to: 

Long term Jobseeker's Allowance or Farm Assist:

If you are getting long-term Jobseeker's Allowance or Farm Assist, you should send your completed form to your Social Welfare Local Office.

HSE payments:

If you are getting a payment from your Health Service Executive (HSE) Area, you should apply to the Community Welfare Officer at your local health centre/office.

Social Security Payment from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement:

If you are getting a Social Security Payment from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement, you should apply to: