Fuel Allowance 2026/27: €43 a week from January

In Budget 2027 on 6 October 2026, the Department of Social Protection said Fuel Allowance will rise by €5 to €43 a week from January 2027. Until then the weekly rate stays at €38. The Department says that means over €1,200 in 2027 for some 460,000 recipients.

Citizens Information lists Monday 28 September 2026 as the start of the 2026/27 season, which runs for 28 weeks to April 2027. This article covers the Republic of Ireland.

Neither the Department's Budget 2027 announcement nor the Citizens Information Budget summary lists an energy credit or a separate heating lump sum.

Higher income limit for single pensioners

A single person aged 66 or over can now have up to €534 a week in income, half the €1,068 limit for a couple. From January 2027 the single limit rises to 60% of the couple limit, so more single pensioners will qualify. The Department has not yet published the new weekly figure in euro.

How much heating oil €43 a week buys

At Tankful's typical 500-litre price of €823.50 (prices checked 12 October 2026), €43 buys about 26 litres of kerosene. At the current €38 rate it buys about 23 litres. That is a typical delivered price across the counties we check, not a quote.

Other help, including the Additional Needs Payment, free insulation under the Warmer Homes Scheme and SEAI grants, is in our guide to heating oil grants and supports.

If you have not applied yet

A late claim normally starts from the date it is received, not the start of the season. The Department's operational guidelines (updated 19 March 2026) allow backdating where good cause or extenuating circumstances are shown, decided case by case.

A Department announcement on 12 March 2026 said eligibility had expanded to around 50,000 more working families on Working Family Payment, with payments backdated to January 2026 where applicable.

• Only one person per household can get Fuel Allowance. If you already get it and your circumstances and main social welfare payment have not changed, you usually do not need to reapply each year.
• Every week of delay is a week unpaid. Eligibility and how to apply are in the Department's Fuel Allowance service guidance.
• If something outside your control made you late, say so on the claim: that is what the backdating exception covers.
• You cannot apply online if your main payment is Jobseeker's Allowance, Jobseeker's Transitional Payment, Farm Assist or One-Parent Family Payment. The Department says to apply through your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.

How the payment reaches you

Fuel Allowance is normally paid weekly, with your main social welfare payment if you get one, or directly if you do not. It can also be paid in two lump sums, usually in September and the following January.

Guidance says lump sums are not available to people on the Rural Social Scheme, Tús, Gateway, Community Employment, Supplementary Welfare Allowance or the Working Family Payment. To switch, the Department wants the Change the Payment Frequency form at least one month before the first instalment is due. A form sent during the season keeps weekly payment until the next instalment.

If you get Fuel Allowance and the Living Alone Increase, a Telephone Support Allowance of €2.50 a week is added automatically to your main social welfare payment.

Since September 2026, under a Budget 2026 change, people moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension into work keep their Fuel Allowance for five years.

Paying for a delivery

Oil is usually bought in 300L, 500L or 1,000L fills, so a delivery can fall due before enough weekly payments have arrived to cover it. Tankful county figures are recent prices, not supplier-confirmed offers; the oil supplier confirms the delivered total, minimum order and payment terms.