The Current #015: The €420 a Year a Lot of Households Never Claim
Shamrock Electrical
There is a payment towards your electricity bill that a great many Irish households never apply for, and it is usually two wrong beliefs that stop them. Here is what it is worth and who can get it, plus when the Fuel Allowance season opens, the heating check to do before you turn it on, and what to watch for in Budget 2027.
The Household Benefits Package, and the two myths that stop people claiming it
If you, or someone living in your house, is aged 70 or over, there is a fair chance there is money on the table here. The Household Benefits Package comes from the Department of Social Protection and it goes straight towards your energy bill:
- It is worth €1.15 a day towards your electricity or gas, about €35 a month, or €420 a year, paid into the bank account on the first Tuesday of each month.
- It also includes a free TV licence, which brings the package to around €580 a year in total.
- If you are aged 70 or over, you qualify. It is not means tested and you do not need to be getting a State pension.
- Myth one: you do not have to live alone. Citizens Information states this plainly. Living with your family does not disqualify you.
- Myth two: the bills do not have to be in your name. So if your mother or father is 70 or over and living with you, they can claim it even though the electricity bill is in yours.
- Only one person per household can hold it. Under 70 you may still qualify on Carer's Allowance (if you live with the person you care for), Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Blind Pension, and between 66 and 70 there is a means test.
Apply on MyWelfare.ie, or ask at your local Intreo centre for the Household Benefits Package form. If you have an older parent living with you and have never looked at this, it is worth ten minutes this week.
Fuel Allowance opens this month
This is a separate payment, and you can hold both:
- €38 a week for 28 weeks, about €1,064 across the season, or two lump sums of €532.
- It is expected to open the week of 21 September. The Department has not formally confirmed this season's dates yet, so keep an eye out.
- You qualify if you are 66 or over, or under 66 on a qualifying payment, and you pass a means test. The means test for over-66s is more generous than most people assume.
- Since January this year, households on the Working Family Payment qualify too. If you were turned down years ago because you were working, it is worth another look.
Before you turn the heating on
Most Irish homes will fire up the heating in the next three or four weeks. Four things worth doing first, in rough order of importance:
- Test your carbon monoxide alarm, and get one if you have none. You cannot see it, smell it or taste it, and it kills people in this country every winter. Press the test button on any alarm you own and check the expiry date on the back, because the sensors do expire.
- Service the boiler before the rush. Booking in September is far easier than ringing around on the first cold snap in November, when the whole country is at it.
- Set the controls rather than boosting. A timer and a room thermostat set properly cost less to run than a system that gets switched on, forgotten about, then switched off again when the house is too warm. The same goes for the immersion.
- Bleed the radiators. Cold at the top and warm at the bottom means trapped air, and you are paying to heat water that never reaches the room.
Shop heating controls and timers
Free delivery from the first euro on everything in store. Carbon monoxide alarms are on the shelf at the counter in Rathcoole.
Budget 2027 lands on 6 October
One for the diary. For households, the things to watch are whether any energy credit comes back in a targeted form rather than for everybody, and what happens to the retrofit and solar grants. The National Energy Affordability Taskforce is due to put its action plan to Government around the same time. We will cover what actually lands rather than what is rumoured beforehand.
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Shamrock Electrical Supplies is an electrical retailer and wholesaler based in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin. We supply homeowners and professional contractors across Ireland, with free delivery from the first euro.
Find Us
Shamrock Electrical Supplies
Unit 22, Block 613, Jordanstown Road
Greenogue Business Park
Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, D24 TX98
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 7am to 5pm
Saturday: 9am to 1pm
Sunday: Closed