asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he had any plans to extend the concessions such as free telephone rental which are at present available to recipients of Irish and British State pensions to those outside these categories who are otherwise qualified.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Schemes.
7.
The free telephone rental allowance scheme is one of several schemes including the free electricity allowance scheme and the free television licence scheme, which are provided for persons who are elderly or permanently incapacitated, who are receiving certain social security-type payments and who are either living entirely alone or with other excepted persons.
Up to this year these allowances were only available to recipients of Irish or British State pensions. From April 1989 I extended entitlement to these schemes to all European Community social security pensioners aged 66 years or over and those aged under 66 years who are in receipt of EC invalidity pensions for more than 12 months and who are resident in Ireland. This extension will cost £0.5 million in a full year.
I also extended the schemes to cover recipients of certain long term occupational injuries payments from my Department. In addition I extended the national fuel scheme to households where a long term unemployed person is living with a pensioner or with another long term unemployed person.
These schemes were widely advertised and my Department ran an extensive media campaign to bring these important changes to the notice of the public.
I understand that the Deputy may have a particular case in mind which falls between two stools and I will certainly look into the case.
The time has come to deal with questions nominated for priority.
41.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the anomalies caused by the lack of indexation of the limit, set in 1975, of £6 allowed for means tested social welfare schemes having regard to the fact that this results in losses of pound for pound for any income above £6; and if he will make a statement on his intentions in this regard.
At present claimants with means of up to £6 a week can qualify for the maximum old age or widow's pension. This also applies in the case of allowances for deserted wives, prisoners' wives, unmarried mothers and the new schemes for widowers and deserted husbands. There is no disregard of this kind under the unemployment assistance or supplementary welfare allowance schemes.
Only a minority of recipients have means in excess of £6. For example, at the end of December 1988, 70 per cent of old age pensioners, 65 per cent of widows and over 90 per cent of claimants receiving allowances as deserted wives, prisoner's wives and unmarried mothers were in receipt of maximum payments.
The Government, while maintaining the overall value of social welfare payments have made significant additional resources available to increase the payments to those on the lowest levels, particularly the long-term unemployed. The policy of using any available resources to provide increases in basic rates of payment rather than increases in the levels of disregards and allowances has been designed to ensure that these resources are channelled to all recipients rather than specifically to those recipients who already have means.
The question of further increases in payments including any changes in regard to allowances and disregards will be a matter for consideration in a budgetary context.
I thank the Minister for his detailed reply but he did not address the problem, the question of indexation of the £6 limit. If that sum was index linked to present levels it would now be £30. I am not just talking about means testing but about the ability of people in these categories, particularly single parent families, non-contributory widowers and those in receipt of a deserted wife's allowance, to be able to earn some additional money to keep them in frugal comfort and not to be penalised under the social welfare code. It is in that context that I wanted the money to be index linked to allow them to earn a little more — as many of them want to do — to maintain their sanity.
The difficulty which comes up in the budget in relation to this is that there are limited resources available and it is obviously better to apply them to the people who have no income and spread it right across the board which means that everybody gets an increase. Obviously, a time may come when a quantum leap is taken and a sum of money provided to take that step. This problem has affected previous Ministers for Social Welfare, not just myself. For example, 95 per cent of the total of unmarried mothers qualify for the full rate which indicates that they are the principal people with no other income. I appreciate what the Deputy said in regard to people getting back to the work area but this is a separate question about which I will be concerned in future policy.
When will such a policy be in operation?
How to do it is another question.
Deputy Garland rose.
I am sorry, Deputy, I cannot call you as supplementaries on priority questions are confined to the Deputies who tabled the questions.