Social Welfare Benefits
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-30
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Colm Burke (FG), Cork North-Central

The cost of running a house for one person is the same as the cost of running it for two people, especially in relation to heating and maintenance. That is where I am coming from in relation to the fuel allowance for the over-70s. There is that huge additional cost. I recall dealing with one man whose basic allowance was the old age pension. His wife died. The income was cut in half but the cost of running the house was the same. In rural areas, we have quite a lot of properties that are not in great shape. They are extremely costly. People do not have the funding now to do major renovations despite all the grants that are there. It still costs a lot more money than what the grants will provide. In that context, I am wondering about making the fuel allowance automatic for people living alone rather than having their income assessed.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-30