asked the Minister for Social Welfare whether he will take steps to raise the local authority blind welfare grant from the figure of 6s a week fixed in 1948.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Blind Welfare Allowance.
44.
The payment of blind welfare allowances is primarily a matter for county and county borough councils. In fulfilment of their obligations under the Blind Persons Act, 1920, all such councils operate blind welfare schemes, approved by me, which provide, amongst other things, for the payment at their discretion of blind welfare allowances to all necessitous and unemployable blind people, over the age of 16, who are ordinarily resident within their areas and for whom education and industrial training are not provided.
The figure mentioned by the Deputy was suggested in 1949 as additional assistance in the case of a single person in receipt of blind pension and the local authorities were informed that payment of higher rates would be approved on request. From time to time a number of authorities have sought and were granted approval to pay higher rates and I will be glad to sanction any further proposals of this nature which are submitted to me.
Is it correct to say that a number of local authorities have not increased the figure since 1948?
1949 is the year. There are a few local authorities still paying 6s.
Does the Minister not feel he should do more than encourage them? Should he not get in touch with them and propose they increase this allowance by an amount appropriate to the increase in the cost of living, which has been about 110 per cent since then? Will the Minister take some action?
I would rather see some uniformity introduced.
It should be increased to £3 instead of 6s.
What is the highest figure now paid?
The highest is 27s 6d.
Could it be a uniform 27s 6d throughout the country?
That is paid by the Dublin Health Authority.
Will he make that uniform throughout the country?
That is for a single person, of course. The thing to remember is that while the cost of living has gone up by a certain percentage in the 11 years the Deputy is referring to, blind pensions have been increased by three times the rate of the increase in the cost of living. It is not correct to say it has not kept up with the rising cost of living.
If the Minister says it was necessary to increase the pension by three times, and if this amount was necessary when it was first introduced for the purpose of levelling off, surely the 6s should be increased three times?
Local authorities are free to give whatever supplementary allowance they like under the scheme and if it is reasonable I shall be quite prepared to sanction it. My predecessor and I have done our part in ensuring that these pensions have been increased each year.
I am calling Question No. 45. We cannot discuss this question all evening.
Will the Minister take steps to ensure that a uniform level of the kind he mentioned is brought in?
I shall deal with it in another context.