asked the Minister for Social Welfare the estimated cost of his Department of restoring the system of means test in use prior to 1985 for unemployment assistance, under which the cost of a mortgage or rent was deemed an allowable expense against the income of a working spouse in carrying out a means test for the non-working applicant.
Written Answers. - Means Tests.
26.
The data which would be necessary to estimate reliably the cost in question are not available.
In my reply to the question in the matter put down by the Deputy on 8 November 1989, I explained that the allowance which used to be made in respect of rent or mortgage payments in cases where an unemployment assistance claimant's wife was in employment was discontinued in November 1986 on the implementation of the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985 which provided for equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security. Accordingly, from that point onwards, particulars of rent or mortgage are generally no longer requested from unemployment assistance claimants.
Prior to November 1986, such particulars were obtained, where appropriate, in order to enable the deciding officer to make due allowance in calculating the claimant's means. However, statistics on the number of claimants who at any time benefited by virtue of the allowance or on the total amount of such allowances were not maintained. As pointed out also in my reply of 8 November 1989 any claimant who had the allowance in question in November 1986 may continue to do so for as long as he remains continuously unemployed.