Amount
€2.50 a week
This is a small payment with an unusual problem. Because there is no form, there is no moment where anyone checks whether you are getting it. It lands silently with your main payment, or it silently does not.
Quick facts
- Amount
- €2.50 a week
- Application
- None — automatic
- You must have
- Living Alone Increase AND Fuel Allowance
- Paid
- With your main weekly payment
- Worth a year
- About €130 (our arithmetic)
What is the Telephone Support Allowance?
“The Telephone Support Allowance (TSA) is an extra weekly payment for people on certain social welfare payments who are also getting both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance.”
It is meant to help someone living alone with the cost of staying in contact, or with a home alert system. At €2.50 a week it is not a large sum — but it is about €130 a year that requires nothing from you, and it is either arriving or it is not.
Who qualifies?
You need the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance, together with one of these payments:
- State Pension (Contributory)
- State Pension (Non-Contributory)
- Bereaved Partner's (Contributory) Pension
- Bereaved Partner's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme
- Invalidity Pension
- Disability Allowance
- Blind Pension
- Disablement Pension (Incapacity Supplement)
- Deserted Wife's Benefit
Why this one goes missing
“You do not need to apply for Telephone Support Allowance because it is paid automatically to people who qualify.”
Every other payment has a form, and a form is a moment where somebody checks. This has neither. It is “an additional sum paid on the same day and by the same method, as your main weekly payment” — so it does not arrive separately, it is folded into a figure you probably do not itemise.
The only way to know is to look. If you have the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance and one of the payments above, your weekly total should include it. If the arithmetic does not work, ring the Department and ask.
The chain worth checking first
This payment sits at the end of a chain: qualifying payment → Living Alone Increase → Fuel Allowance → Telephone Support Allowance. A break anywhere earlier means this one never starts.
So if you are not getting it, the useful question is usually not “where is my €2.50” but “am I getting the Living Alone Increase at all?” That one is worth far more, and it is missed far more often.
How to get the Telephone Support Allowance
You do not apply: it is paid automatically if you qualify.
Check you get both extra payments
It is for people on certain welfare payments who also get both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance.
There is no form to fill in
You do not apply, because it is paid automatically to people who qualify.
Look for it in your weekly payment
It is paid on the same day and in the same way as your main weekly payment.
Not getting it? Contact the Department
If you think you qualify but it has not arrived, contact the section of the Department of Social Protection that pays you.
Phone, forms and how long it takes
- Not getting it? If your main payment is Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension or Incapacity Supplement (Longford)
- 0818 927 770 or (043) 334 0000
- Not getting it? If your main payment is a State Pension, Bereaved Partner's Pension or Deserted Wife's Benefit (Sligo)
- 0818 200 400 or (071) 915 7100
From the official pages (gov.ie), re-checked every night. Numbers and times can change, so check the official page before you send anything.
Common questions
How much is the Telephone Support Allowance?
€2.50 a week in 2026, paid with your main weekly social welfare payment. That is roughly €130 over a year.
Do I have to apply for the Telephone Support Allowance?
No. Citizens Information states: 'You do not need to apply for Telephone Support Allowance because it is paid automatically to people who qualify.' That is also why people never notice when it is missing — there is no form, so there is no moment where anyone checks.
Who qualifies for the Telephone Support Allowance?
You must be getting both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance, along with one of: State Pension (Contributory or Non-Contributory), Bereaved Partner's (Contributory) Pension, Bereaved Partner's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme, Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Disablement Pension (Incapacity Supplement), or Deserted Wife's Benefit.
How do I know if I am getting it?
It is not paid separately — it is added to your main weekly payment on the same day by the same method. If you qualify on all three conditions, check whether your weekly total includes it, and ring the Department if the arithmetic does not add up.
I am not getting it. What should I check first?
Whether you are getting the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance at all. This payment only starts once both of those are in place, so a break earlier in the chain is the usual reason — and those two are worth far more than €2.50 a week.
- €130 — €2.50 a week × 52 weeks = €130 a year. The Department publishes the weekly rate; the annual figure is ours.