asked the Minister for Health whether a TB patient in hospital, who has a wife and seven children under thirteen years of age to support, and whose social welfare benefit amounts to £6 18s. 6d. per week, is entitled to any infectious disease allowance.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Infectious Disease Allowance.
2.
The rates of allowances specified in the Infectious Diseases (Maintenance) Regulations are maximum rates and are subject to abatement by income from other sources, including social welfare benefits; children's allowances are, however, disregarded for the purposes of abatement.
A patient, such as the Deputy refers to in his question, whose social welfare benefit exceeds the maximum appropriate weekly allowance payable under the regulations, including the rent allowance, would not ordinarily be entitled to an infectious disease allowance. Where, however, health authorities consider that undue hardship would result from abatement of maintenance allowances by the full amount of income from other sources, including social welfare benefits, they may dispense with such abatement in whole or in part.
Everyone agreed that we should encourage breadwinners to take advantage of the treatment at an early stage, and they should be assured that their dependants will not be worse off. In this case because he has social welfare benefits of £6 18s. 6d., he is deprived of assistance from the county council.
If the Deputy will let me have particulars of any case he has in mind, I will be glad to pass them on to the Minister.