The means-tested payment is intended to help with the cost of heating homes during the colder months of the year.
Those aged 70 and older or those who are receiving long-term social welfare payments and satisfy a means test are eligible for the allowance.
The total payment over 28 weeks amounts to €924, with recipients receiving €33 per week or two lump sums of €462.
It can be paid weekly from the end of September to April or the allowance can be paid in two instalments if preferred.
If opting to receive the payment in two instalments, the first will be paid this month and the second will be paid in January.
One allowance can be paid per household, with over 400,000 households set to receive the allowance under the scheme which was broadened in the last Budget.
The Department of Social Protection has said the scheme for the 2024/25 season is estimated at €382 million.
Further information about the allowance, including how to apply and the eligibility criteria, is available online.
Someone over the age of 70 qualifies for the payment if they are legally resident in the State, if they pass a means test and are living alone or with other qualified people.
Those under the age of 70 may still qualify if they already receive supports such as the disability allowance, jobseeker’s allowance, one-parent family payment or the State pension among other allowances.
Social Protection minister Heather Humphreys said the allowance plays a “vital role supporting hundreds of thousands of families with their heating costs over the winter months”.
She added that a new over 70s means test was introduced alongside extended eligibility for the scheme.
“Under this, a single person can have means of €512 per week and a couple can have means of €1,024 per week and still qualify for Fuel Allowance,” she said.
“We have also increased the weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 by €80 per week. These changes represent the largest ever expansion of the Scheme and I would encourage people to check their eligibility for the payment.”
