asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health (1) if he is aware that there are complaints of grave hardship on poor people by reason of the stoppage of food vouchers at present when food prices are so high; and if he will say when they will be restored and whether they will be at the same rate as heretofore; and (2) if he is aware that vouchers were not issued to recipients of home help in County Cavan or certain parts of it for October, 1942, and if he will say why, and whether the loss sustained by those people will be made good.
Ceisteanna.—Questions. Oral Answers. - Food Vouchers in Cavan.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, the estimates of my Department for this year provided only £50,000 for this purpose. I do not think that the Deputy's forecast will prove to be correct. The Government grant to public assistance authorities for the purpose of providing assistance in kind to home assistance recipients is effective up to the end of the present month. The withdrawal of the grant does not necessarily involve the cessation of such allowances. The disbursement of assistance to necessitous persons is a responsibility of the public assistance authority and the additional assistance in kind which was provided this year out of a Government grant can be continued to be made by such bodies in appropriate cases from their own funds without seriously affecting their financial position. In this connection, the Deputy must not lose sight of the fact that within the past few weeks recipients of unemployment assistance in rural areas have been granted increased allowances at a cost of £150,000 to the Exchequer. For this and other reasons, there is every likelihood that the demand for home assistance in rural areas will be considerably reduced and, in any event, will not be greater than can be met readily and conveniently out of their own resources by the local authorities concerned.
As regards the second part of the question, the cases referred to are, presumably, those in connection with which an assistance officer has been removed from his post. The present information at my disposal would imply that the home assistance recipients continued to receive special food allowances but that the traders supplying the goods remained unpaid for some time as a result of the negligence of the officer concerned. I have caused a special audit to be made of the expenditure of home assistance in the county.