Donegal people encouraged to apply for Fuel Allowance with 2,428 now qualifying
The extension of the Fuel Allowance to those in receipt of Working Family Payments comes into effect next week and will be backdated to January
More people in Donegal will be eligible for the Fuel Allowance from next week.
The extension of the Fuel Allowance to those in receipt of Working Family Payments comes into effect next week and will be backdated to January. This means that 50,000 additional households will now receive the Fuel Allowance.
Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh said: “The Fuel Allowance is a welcome weekly payment of €38 for households as a contribution
towards their heating costs between September and April each year.”
The newly eligible families will receive backdated payments of up to €380 on Thursday, March 12, together with their weekly Working Family Payment. Some 2,428 recipients of the working family payment in Donegal will now qualify for fuel allowance.
From January 2026, the weekly rate of Fuel Allowance was increased by €5 a week to €38, giving a total per recipient of €1,064 each year. As a result of the announcement, over 470,000 households are now being supported by the Fuel Allowance.
“I encourage anyone who may be eligible to apply for the allowance, which will go a long way in supporting households in Donegal through the winter months,” Cllr Kavanagh concluded.