The package is available to people aged over 70 who are resident in the State and to people under age 70 who are also resident in the State in certain circumstances.  Only one person in a household can qualify for the package at any time. The following information is from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. For further information, please go to www.welfare.ie

If you satisfy a number of conditions, you may qualify for the Household Benefits Package. The Household Benefits Package is made up of:

• The Electricity Allowance
• The Natural Gas Allowance
• The Electricity (Group Account) Allowance
• The Bottled Gas Refill Allowance
• The Telephone Allowance
• The Free Television License.

If you have an electricity or natural gas supply, you must choose either the Electricity Allowance or the Natural Gas Allowance. The Electricity/Electricity (Group Account) Allowance cannot be paid at more than one address or at the same time as a Natural Gas Allowance.

Electricity Allowance

The Electricity Allowance covers normal standing charges and up to 2,400 units of electricity each year, (up to 400 units of electricity in each two-monthly billing period in summer and 400 units of electricity in each two-monthly billing period in winter).

ESB

Following approval of your application for an Electricity Allowance, the Department notifies the ESB, who will apply the allowance, including any backdated credit, on your next or subsequent bill.

The allowance is paid directly to the ESB. You must pay in the normal way for any electricity you use over and above the allowance.  If you do not use all your free units, up to 1200 unused free units can be carried forward between each billing period. Different payment methods apply if you change from the ESB to another electricity provider - see 'Other electricity providers' below.

If you have a Nightsaver meter in your home, your unused free electricity units will reduce the cost of electricity in your Nightsaver account. 

Other electricity providers

If your electricity provider is not the ESB, your Electricity Allowance will be paid directly to you to use towards your electricity bill. In this case, the allowance can be paid into your bank account or at your local Post Office.

If you are already getting an Electricity Allowance and change your electricity provider, you do not need to reapply. 

Electricity (Group Account) Allowance

You may qualify for an Electricity (Group Account) Allowance if you are living in self-contained accommodation (a flat or apartment), and:

You have your own electricity slot meter

or

There are a number of separate electricity meters operating from one meter from an electricity provider and the registered consumer of electricity is a landlord

or

There are no separate meters, but the registered consumer of electricity at your address is a landlord.

The Electricity (Group Account) Allowance is paid on the 1st Tuesday of each month to an account in a financial institution, for example, a bank or if you have a social welfare services card through your local post office. If you are being paid through a post office, using a social welfare services card, you have 56 days to collect your payment. 

Natural Gas Allowance

From 1 August 2008, you will get €57 deducted from each gas bill, for gas used during the summer months, with the Natural Gas Allowance. You will also get €123 deducted from each gas bill for gas used during the winter months. If you don't use your full allowance you can carry up to €150 to your next bill.  The summer months are from June to November.  The winter months are from December to May. The maximum allowance is €540 per year.

Bord Gáis issues gas bills in arrears, which means that the normal Natural Gas Allowance credit that appears on your bill refers to the two-month period prior to the bill's issue.

The Allowance does not cover the cost of installing a natural gas supply to your home.

Following approval of your application for a Natural Gas Allowance, the Department notifies your gas provider, who will apply the allowance, including any backdated credit, on your second gas bill after that date.

From January 2008, the Allowance is extended to people who use gas which is not delivered through the national grid, for example, in some areas a gas tank may provide gas to a number of individually metered households.

Bottled Gas Refill Allowance

If your home is not connected to an electricity/natural gas supply but you satisfy the conditions of the scheme, you can avail of the Bottled Gas Refill Allowance as an alternative.

The Bottled Gas Refill Allowance is paid on the 1st Tuesday of each month to an account in a financial institution, for example, a bank or if you have a social welfare services card through your local post office. If you are being paid through a post office, using a social welfare services card, you have 56 days to collect your payment. 

The Bottled Gas Refill Allowance is only available to people who do no have an electricity or natural gas supply.

Telephone Allowance

The Telephone Allowance is a payment towards your mobile phone or landline phone bill. You can get only one Telephone Allowance per household which can be used for either a mobile phone or landline but not both. 

The value of the allowance is:

€21.40 plus VAT (€26 including VAT)- if you are billed monthly or

€42.80 plus VAT (€52 including VAT) - if you are billed every two-months

If you use the Telephone Allowance for your landline phone, it is paid as a credit on your phone bill.

If you use the Telephone Allowance for your mobile phone, you can use it to pay your mobile phone bill or to buy credit for your phone. It is paid to you on the first Tuesday of every month. You can choose to have your allowance paid into a post office or a financial institution, for example, a bank. If you are being paid through a post office, using a social welfare services card, you have 56 days to collect your payment. 

If you have a hearing or vision impairment, the Allowance covers the cost of renting a special telephone, subject to availability.

The Allowance does not cover the installation charge for the telephone.

The allowance can only be awarded if the telephone is registered in your own or joint names. If this is not the case you should apply to your telephone service provider to have it changed.

If your house is divided into flats or apartments, you can only qualify for a Telephone Allowance if the telephone is registered in your name and is located in your private flat/apartment.

People aged 70 or over living in nursing homes who have their own telephone account or mobile phone may also qualify.

Free Television License

Once you qualify for the Household Benefits Package, you become eligible for a Free Television License from the next renewal date of your television license.

When you qualify for the Household Benefits Package, the Department issues you with a TV license, and also notifies An Post of your entitlement to a free license for as long as you are entitled to the Household Benefits Package.

Rules

You may qualify for the Household Benefits Package if:

You are aged 70 or over

OR

You are getting Carer’s Allowance

OR

You are caring for a person who is receiving Prescribed Relative's Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance

OR

You are between 66 and 70 and are receiving:

• State Pension (Contributory) or State Pension (Non Contributory)

• State Pension (Transition)

• Blind Pension

• Widow’s/Widower’s (Contributory) Pension or Widow’s/Widower’s (Non Contributory) Pension

• Invalidity Pension

• Deserted Wife’s Benefit or Allowance

• One-Parent Family Payment

• Prisoner’s Wife’s Allowance

• An ordinary Garda Widow’s Pension from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform or an equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement and live alone or only with certain excepted persons (see ‘Excepted persons’ below)

OR

You are under 66 and are receiving:

• Invalidity Pension

• Blind Pension

• Incapacity Supplement or Workmen's Compensation with Disablement Pension (for at least 12 months)

• Disability Allowance

• An equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement and live alone or only with certain excepted persons.

Excepted persons are:

• a qualified adult (your spouse/partner is considered a qualified adult if you are receiving an allowance for him/her with your payment or if he or she earns less than €310, including income from a social welfare payment)

• dependent child(ren) under the age of 18 or under the age of 22 if in full-time education (a certificate from the school/college must be supplied for those aged 18 or over)

• a person who is so incapacitated as to require constant care and attention for at least 12 months (medical certification may be required)

• a person(s) who would qualify for the allowance in his/her own right (for example, a person getting an State Pension)

• a person who is providing you or someone in your household with constant care and attention if you or that person is so incapacitated as to require constant care and attention for at least 12 months (medical certification may be required). People in employment for more than 15 hours per week or people getting Jobseeker's Benefit/Jobseeker's Allowance cannot be accepted as providing constant full-time care and attention.

OR

You are aged between 66 and 70, satisfy a means test and live alone or only with the excepted persons mentioned above.

Other qualifying conditions

• You must be permanently living (that is on an all-year-round basis) at the address at which you wish the allowances to be applied. The allowances do not apply if you live in a nursing/retirement home where the accommodation is not fully self-contained. However, if you are aged 70 or over and live in such a nursing/retirement home and you have your own telephone account, you may be eligible for the Telephone Allowance.

• No other person in your household can be receiving the allowances.

• You must be the registered consumer of electricity/gas if you are applying for an Electricity/Natural Gas Allowance and the registered telephone account holder if you are applying for the Telephone Allowance.

Concession for widowed persons aged between 60 and 65

If you are a widowed person aged between 60 and 65 and your late spouse was getting a Telephone Allowance and/or Electricity/Natural Gas/Bottled Gas Refill Allowance and/or Free Television License from the Department of Social and Family Affairs and, prior to his/her death, you were permanently living together, you may now qualify for the allowances in the Household Benefits Package.

You must be receiving:

• State Pension (Transition)
• Widow's/Widower's (Contributory) Pension
• Widow's/Widower's (Non-Contributory) Pension
• One-Parent Family Payment (Widows/Widowers)
• Widow's or Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefits Scheme
• an equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement
• an ordinary Garda Widow's Pension from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
• You may be required to produce documentary evidence proving that your late spouse was receiving a Telephone Allowance and/or Electricity/Natural Gas/Bottled Gas Refill Allowance and/or Free Television License.

Concession for people transferring from Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance or Blind Pension

If you are receiving Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance or Blind Pension and you are receiving a Telephone Allowance and/or Electricity/ Natural Gas/Bottled Gas Refill Allowance and/or Free Television License, you may retain the Allowance if you transfer to another payment from the Department of Social and Family Affairs (excluding Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance, Illness Benefit and Pre-Retirement Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment and Carer's Benefit).

The means test

If you are aged between 66 and 70 and are not receiving a qualifying payment, you must satisfy a means test.

The means test involves calculating your appropriate weekly means limit. This limit is based on the current maximum rate of State Pension (Contributory) including increases for age, living alone, and adult/child dependants.

Your weekly income limit consists of the maximum rate of State Pension (Contributory) plus €100. 

Your weekly income limit is then compared to your weekly means as assessed in a means test.

If your weekly means are less than or equal to your weekly income limit, you satisfy the means test and qualify for the Household Benefits Package.

If you are applying for the Household Benefits Package on the basis of the means test, a separate means test questionnaire will be posted to you for completion.

If you change address

If you change address and you still satisfy the conditions for the Household Benefits Package, you must re-apply for the allowances.

Where to apply

You must complete form HB1 which is available from your local social welfare office or you may download the form from www.welfare.ie

Your completed application form should be returned to the Household Benefits Package Section: 

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Social Welfare Services 

College Road 

Sligo 

IRELAND 

Tel:

(071) 915 7100 

Locall:

1890 500 000 

Homepage:

http://www.welfare.ie/