asked the Minister for Social Welfare if in certain circumstances, such as medical illness, affecting deserted wives or their families, he will waive the requirement of being over 66 years of age to qualify for a free telephone rental allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Telephone Rental Allowance.
52.
The free telephone rental allowance is available, subject to certain conditions, to persons aged over 66 years who are receiving a social welfare pension or allowance, a Garda widow's pension, or a British retirement pension who are living alone or only with certain categories of person. It is also available under similar conditions but irrespective of age, to persons receiving blind or invalidity pensions from the Department of Social Welfare or disabled person's maintenance allowance from a health board. There are no arrangements whereby the rules governing the scheme can be waived in particular circumstances.
The scheme is intended to apply to old or permanently incapacitated persons who would be unable to summon help in an emergency. Any further extension of the scheme to other categories could have major implications for expenditure on the scheme and there are no plans to extend the scheme at present.