Help & financial support

Help paying for heating oil

There's real help out there for heating your home — the Fuel Allowance, a once-off payment for an urgent fill, and grants to make your home cheaper to heat. Here's what you can get, and what it buys in oil today.

General information, not official advice. Amounts and rules are set each Budget and can change — always check the official source linked on each item before you rely on it. Figures last checked June 2026.

What your payment buys in oil today

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What does your payment buy in oil today?

Pick your county and a payment to see roughly how many litres it covers at today's cheapest local price — so you can fill up when it's cheap, not when you're desperate.

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The supports

What you can get

Fuel Allowance

A weekly winter payment to help heat your home — €38 a week — for people aged 66+ or on a qualifying welfare payment. One per household.

Fuel Allowance is the big one. It's a weekly payment from the Department of Social Protection to help heat your home over winter — and it doesn't matter whether you burn oil, gas or solid fuel.

You can take it weekly, or as two lump sums — usually one around late September and one in January. That lump-sum option is handy if you'd rather buy a full tank of oil when the money lands. To switch, fill in the 'Change the Payment Frequency' form (FA CPF1) about a month before the next instalment is due.

Weekly rate
€38 a week
from January 2026 (was €33 in Sept–Dec 2025)
Season
28 weeks, ~late September to April
2025/26 season started 22 Sept 2025; extended to 1 May 2026
Means test (aged 66+)
up to €534/week single · €1,068 couple
2025/26
Per household
one payment only

Who can get it: You must be getting a qualifying long-term social welfare payment (like the State Pension), or pass the over-66 means test, and live alone or only with certain other people. The first €50,000 of savings is disregarded if you're 66+ (€20,000 if under 66). Eligibility is broader than this — check the official means test for your own situation.

How to apply: Apply with form NFS1 from gov.ie, your Intreo Centre, a Citizens Information Centre or post office. Apply early: it isn't backdated if you apply after the season has started.

Citizens Information — Fuel Allowance →

Additional Needs Payment

A once-off payment for an urgent expense you can't cover — including a heating-oil bill or a fill — decided by your local Community Welfare Officer.

If an oil bill or a fill lands that you just can't manage, the Additional Needs Payment can step in. There's no set amount — your Community Welfare Officer looks at your income and what you need, and decides.

It's means-tested and meant for one-off or exceptional costs. You don't have to be on another social welfare payment to apply.

Amount
no fixed amount — at the officer's discretion
2026
Phone
0818 60 70 80 (Community Welfare Service)

How to apply: Apply through mywelfare.ie, your local Intreo Centre or Community Welfare Officer, or call 0818 60 70 80. Bring proof of your income and the bill you need help with.

gov.ie — Additional Needs Payment →

SEAI Warmer Homes Scheme

Free insulation and draught-proofing for eligible lower-income homeowners — so your home holds heat and you burn less oil.

If you own your home, it was built before 2006, and you get a payment like the Fuel Allowance, SEAI may upgrade it for free — attic and wall insulation, draught-proofing and more. A warmer home means fewer fills.

It's genuinely free to you, but there's a waiting list (often around two years), so it's worth getting on it early.

Cost to you
free (€0)
2025/26
Home age
built & occupied before 2006
2025/26
Typical wait
about 24–26 months
2025/26

Who can get it: You must own and live in the home, it must have been built before 2006, and you must get a qualifying payment (such as Fuel Allowance and others). SEAI surveys your home and decides what work it needs; where they recommend switching your heating to a renewable system, some works can depend on that — check the details with SEAI.

Citizens Information — Warmer Homes Scheme →

SEAI home-energy grants

There's no grant to fit a new oil boiler — but SEAI grants for insulation and a €700 heating-controls upgrade cut how much oil you use.

People often ask if there's a grant to replace an oil boiler. Honestly: no — there's no SEAI grant for a like-for-like new oil boiler. What the grants do is help your home need less heat in the first place.

For an oil-heated home, the ones that help most are insulation (attic from €1,100, walls from €700) and the €700 heating-controls upgrade — a better-insulated, better-controlled home simply burns less oil.

Heating controls upgrade
€700
2025/26
New oil-boiler grant
none — not covered
2025/26
Attic insulation
€1,100–€2,000 (by home type)
2025/26
Cavity wall insulation
from €700
2025/26

How to apply: Apply to SEAI before any work starts, and use an SEAI-registered contractor. Grants are paid after the work is done and inspected.

Citizens Information — home-energy upgrade grants (SEAI) →

Household Benefits Package

If you're 70+ (or on certain payments), the State pays €1.15 a day off your electricity or gas bill and covers your TV licence.

The Household Benefits Package isn't for oil directly — the energy allowance comes off an electricity or gas bill (you pick one). But it's worth knowing, because most people who get it also qualify for the Fuel Allowance, which does help with oil.

Energy allowance
€1.15 a day off electricity or gas
2025/26
TV licence
covered
2026

Who can get it: You qualify automatically at 70+ (no means test), or earlier if you get certain payments such as the State Pension. One package per household.

Citizens Information — Household Benefits Package →

Timing

When the heating money lands

If you take the Fuel Allowance as lump sums, the cash arrives at set points in the season — handy moments to fill up when you can get a good local price.

  1. 1

    Late September

    Fuel Allowance season starts — your first weekly payments, or your first lump sum. A good moment to fill up before winter demand pushes prices around.

  2. 2

    January

    Your second lump sum lands (if you chose the two-instalment option) — a mid-winter top-up, right when tanks are running low.

  3. 3

    April / early May

    The season ends (the 2025/26 season ran to 1 May 2026). Worth a last look at prices before the payments stop.

Questions, answered

Can I use the Fuel Allowance to buy heating oil?
Yes. The Fuel Allowance isn't tied to any one fuel — it goes towards heating your home however you do it, including kerosene/home heating oil. You can take it weekly (€38 a week for the 2025/26 season) or as two lump sums, around late September and January. Plenty of people use a lump sum to buy a full tank when they can get a good price.
Is there a grant to replace my oil boiler?
No — there's no SEAI grant for fitting a like-for-like new oil boiler. The grants that help an oil-heated home are for using less oil: insulation (attic from €1,100, walls from €700), a €700 heating-controls upgrade, and, if you're eligible, free upgrades under the SEAI Warmer Homes Scheme. Always check the current grant amounts on SEAI/Citizens Information before you commit.
I can't afford to fill my tank — what can I do right now?
Look at the Additional Needs Payment: a once-off payment for an urgent expense like a heating bill or a fill, decided by your local Community Welfare Officer (call 0818 60 70 80 or apply on mywelfare.ie). In the meantime, order the smallest sensible amount rather than a full tank, compare local suppliers to find the cheapest price for your county, and set a price-drop alert so you can fill up when it dips.
When is the Fuel Allowance paid?
It's paid over the winter — the season runs about 28 weeks from late September to April (the 2025/26 season was extended to 1 May 2026). You can be paid weekly, or in two lump sums roughly in late September and the following January.
Who qualifies for the Fuel Allowance?
It's means-tested and paid to one person per household. You generally qualify if you get a qualifying long-term welfare payment (like the State Pension) or pass the over-66 means test (up to €534 a week for a single person aged 66+, €1,068 for a couple, for 2025/26), and you live alone or only with certain other people. Check the official means test for your own circumstances.
Make every euro go further

Fill up when it's cheap, not when you're desperate.

Whatever support you're getting, MyOil helps it stretch: compare your county's suppliers for today's cheapest price, and set a free price-drop alert so you can fill the tank when it dips.

Compare prices in my county →Set a price-drop alert

Need a boiler looked at, or worried about running dry? See our boiler troubleshooter or run-out estimate.