asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of pensioners who qualified for the free electricity allowance in each two-month period in the last financial year; the number in each period who had nothing to pay; and the number to pay for something over the free allowance.
Written Answers. - Free Electricity Allowance.
216.
The numbers of pensioners who received the free electricity allowance in respect of each two-month billing period during the financial year 1972-73 are as follows:—
|
1972 April-May |
25,609 |
|
May-June |
27,047 |
|
June-July |
25,880 |
|
July-August |
27,278 |
|
August-September |
26,215 |
|
September-October |
27,673 |
|
October-November |
26,596 |
|
November-December |
28,191 |
|
December-January |
26,946 |
|
1973 January-February |
28,576 |
|
February-March |
27,254 |
|
*March-April |
28,838 |
*This period was partly within the 1972-73 financial year.
Separate statistics are not kept either in my Department or in the ESB in respect of the amounts of individual monthly billings and thus it is not possible to indicate either the number of pensioners who had nothing to pay or the number who had to pay for something over the fixed allowance.