asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state in respect of the free fuel scheme (1) the amount provided by his Department for the year ended 31st March, 1958, (2) the amount spent in that year and (3) the amount provided for the current year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Free Fuel Scheme.
24.
(1) The amount voted for the cheap fuel scheme for year ended 31st March, 1958, was £179,750. (2) The amount expended in that year was 179,749 9s. 7d. (3) The amount voted for the current year is £162,000.
25.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state (1) the number of people who participated in the free fuel scheme for the year ended 31st March, 1958, and (2) the estimated number of people who will participate during the current year.
I assume that the Deputy's question refers to the cheap fuel scheme.
The number of people who participate in the scheme is not furnished by the local authorities but it is calculated that the average weekly number of participants during the 1957-58 scheme was 43,410.
It is estimated that about 40,000 people will participate in the current scheme.