asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will make provision for financial assistance for a widower with dependent children so that the children can be cared for in their own home rather than in an institution.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Financial Assistance for Widowers.
32.
There is provision under which a widower may be granted, as an addition to certain forms of benefit and assistance, an allowance in respect of a housekeeper residing with him for the purpose of having the care of his dependent children. There is, however, no provision under which my Department could pay an allowance to a widower for a housekeeper if he himself were not entitled to payment from the Department.
It is open to a public assistance authority to grant home assistance in any cases of the kind mentioned in which the circumstances of the household so warrant.