asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will extend free electricity and free TV licences to physically handicapped people living alone.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Electricity and TV.
5.
The schemes of free electricity allowance and free television licence administered by my Department were devised primarily for persons over pension age who are living alone or with certain excepted categories of persons. Physically handicapped persons who are in receipt of an old age type pension and who satisfy the other conditions applicable to these schemes may accordingly qualify at present. Extension of the schemes to include physically handicapped persons who are under pension age is not contemplated.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that people who live alone and are in receipt of social welfare benefit are living in dire poverty, particularly the physically handicapped? Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that last year, in reply to a question the Minister for Health told me the matter was under consideration? Is the matter still under consideration?
As regards the first part of the Deputy's supplementary question, I am aware that the position of these people, living alone or otherwise, has improved quite substantially over the last three years although I do accept that further improvements would be desirable. With regard to the second part of the Deputy's supplementary question, like all schemes under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare, they are under continuous review but it is not contemplated to extend the scheme in the immediate future.
I could very easily ask for an extension of the service to persons living alone but I am asking at this stage for an extension to handicapped persons living alone. It would not cost the State that much. In view of the cost of electricity, television licences, rents and so on, there is tremendous poverty amongst those people and I am sure the Parliamentary Secretary is aware of this. We are not asking too much in asking for at least an extension of the service to the physically handicapped living alone. I am not talking about families. I am making the case for handicapped persons living alone. This would ease the poverty in some way.
I accept the desirability of extending the scheme as far as possible but, quite frankly, I find it hard to reconcile requests by Members on the Fianna Fáil benches for extensions of schemes in relation to social welfare with the call, and demand in some cases, of some of their spokesmen for a cut back of between £20 million and £30 million in the same area.
May I first of all in putting this question remind the Parliamentary Secretary that no spokesman of Fianna Fáil made any such proposal but may I also ask him is he aware that if the Government of which he is a junior member were to manage the affairs of this country reasonably competently it would be possible to achieve the kind of expansion that Deputy Wyse is seeking without the country going into bankruptcy, which is not the position under the Government of which he is a member?
I am afraid there is an extension of the question concerning electricity, television licences, and so on.
I am replying to a statement by the Parliamentary Secretary, Sir.
With regard to the extension of expenditure on social welfare, I recall an article by Deputy Colley in one of the morning papers on the day of the 1975 budget where he allocated in what would be his budget as described in the article substantially less than was in fact allocated in the budget in the area of social welfare. With regard to the second part of Deputy Colley's supplementary question and the management of the economy, I know from listening to speeches and comments by Fianna Fáil economic experts, both political and non-political, that were this Government not in office and were Fianna Fáil in office the number of persons unemployed, which is quite substantial, would be very greatly increased by the type of policy that they would pursue——
(Interruptions.)
Order.
May I ask——
A final supplementary. I am passing to another question after this.
I take it that we may assume that the Parliamentary Secretary was joking in what he has just said. May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary, since he recalls the article to which he has referred, does he also recall that in the same article it was proposed that VAT rates——
I am afraid we are getting altogether away from the subject matter of the question.
The Parliamentary Secretary raised this point. I am entitled to answer it by way of question. Does he recall that the article proposed that the Government would do what they did in the June budget and failed to do in the January budget and if they had done so the requirements of social welfare would have been very much less? Does the Parliamentary Secretary recall that?
This debate may continue another time.
The Government failed to do what they were called on to do and did do six months later.
He also called for a cut in this.
Question No. 6.
A Cheann Comhairle——
Sorry, Deputy. Question No. 6.