asked the Minister for Social Welfare if social welfare officers when assessing means of applicants will in future ignore prospective profits from cottage gardens where an applicant is industrious enough to work such a garden.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Welfare Officers.
19.
A change in the existing legislation on the lines suggested by the Deputy is not contemplated at present.
Would the Minister not consider it very harsh to penalise someone who is industrious enough to till his cottage garden? Would he not agree that such a person should not be assessed on yield from his plot in respect of a social welfare pension?
I do not think that such people are penalised. The Deputy is aware that qualification for the maximum old age non-contributory pension is dependent on means and the means level which has been improved greatly recently, is £6 per week. In the case of a man and his wife living in a cottage they would be allowed to have an income of £12 per week and still qualify for the full pension.
The purchasing of a cottage, for some reason, is not a factor in the assessment of means; but in the case of people who are paying rent or who have purchased their cottages that factor is taken into account. However, regarding the yield of vegetables or fruit from an adjoining plot, such yield would not be taken into consideration for pension purposes. Having regard to the fact that there are such input expenses as seeds, fertilisers and so on involved, it would be very seldom that the yield, under the terms of the 1952 Act, would affect qualification for pension.
The Minister was made aware of a case in County Wexford in which a person who had the industry to grow strawberries found that certain income was determined from this activity. Would the Minister be prepared to have that case re-examined?
As I said in the beginning, legislation is necessary now in order to change this, which is something that was enacted by the Deputy's party in 1952. I certainly would consider in certain circumstances the non-inclusion of such gain or profit, whatever you like to call it, but let me emphasise again it would be very, very difficult for someone with half an acre not to qualify for unemployment assistance or a non-contributory old age pension.
The Minister is leading them up the garden path.
It was the Deputy's party led them up the garden path in 1952. This was a Fianna Fáil Act.