The season began at the end of September. The payment is €38 a week. The Minister has signalled an expansion for older people.
The Fuel Allowance season for 2026/27 began in the last week of September and runs for 28 weeks into April 2027. The rate is €38 a week, following a €5 increase in Budget 2026. It is paid with the recipient’s main welfare payment, or as a lump sum for the half-season on request.
Who qualifies
Fuel Allowance is for people on long-term welfare payments who live alone or only with others who also qualify. The main qualifying payments include the State pension, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance after 390 days, One-Parent Family Payment, and the Working Family Payment since Budget 2026 brought around 50,000 of those households into the scheme.
People aged 70 and over have a separate, more generous means test: income of up to €524 a week for a single person or €1,048 for a couple, with the first €50,000 of savings disregarded.
What may change on Tuesday
Dara Calleary has said he wants Budget 2027 to target older people and those living alone. That points to one or both of two measures: raising the Fuel Allowance rate, or widening eligibility further, possibly by extending the over-70s means test to a younger age group or raising the income limits.
The Disability Federation of Ireland has asked for the allowance to be extended to everyone on a disability payment and for a €4 weekly increase. Family carers’ groups have asked for similar.
How to apply
Applications are through the Department of Social Protection, online at MyWelfare.ie or by form FA1. Anyone who was receiving it last season does not need to reapply. Payments are backdated to the start of the season for applications made before the end of November, and to the date of application after that.
Related supports
The Household Benefits Package, which includes the electricity or gas allowance of €35 a month and a free TV licence, is separate and has its own criteria. The Additional Needs Payment, administered by community welfare officers, can cover one-off heating costs for anyone in difficulty regardless of whether they qualify for Fuel Allowance.
If an energy credit is announced on Tuesday, it is applied to electricity accounts automatically and does not need an application.
