Vol. 403 No. 8
128 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a person (details supplied) in County Limerick with three children who is on unemployment benefit can receive any assistance towards a fixed maintenance allowance of £12 each per week, which is being paid since 1976 but is now causing a lot of financial hardship to this family.
The person concerned is in receipt of unemployment benefit, including an increase in respect of an adult dependant and three dependent children, at the rate of £112.80 per week, together with pay-related benefit of £17.80 per week. He is also in receipt of a supplementary payment of £24 per week from the Mid-Western Health Board towards his housing costs.
I understand from the Mid-Western Health Board, which are responsible for the administration of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme in Limerick, that an application was received from the person concerned for assistance towards maintenance of £12 per week payable to his wife and family, who are resident in the United Kingdom. This application was, having regard to the circumstances and the income of the person concerned, refused. It would be open to the person concerned to seek a variation or discharge of the maintenance order in question in recognition of his present financial circumstances.
129 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will consider including adult dependant allowance as a qualifying payment for receipt of free electricity allowance and telephone rental allowance in cases where one spouse is in hospital and the other spouse, who is the adult dependant, applies for these allowances.
The free electricity allowance applies, subject to certain conditions, to persons aged 66 or over in receipt of a social welfare payment, a Garda widow's pension or a social security pension from the Department of Health and Social Security in Britain or Northern Ireland. Persons under the age of 66 who are in receipt of an invalidity or blind pension from the Department of Social Welfare or a disabled person's maintenance allowance from a health board may also be eligible for the allowance.
130 Mr. D'Arcy asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will make a statement on the case of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford who (a) was made redundant after many years' service, (b) subsequently applied for unemployment benefit, (c) received same, (d) then obtained employment for 16 weeks and (e) is, therefore, penalised by receiving a lesser amount.
Following a period of employment from 18 April 1990 to 14 August 1990 the person concerned resumed claiming unemployment and pay-related benefit from 17 August 1990. He is entitled to an unemployment payment of £137.10 per week made up of £134.80 unemployment benefit and £2.30 pay-related benefit.
Since the period between the last day of an earlier claim and the first day of the new claim exceeded 13 weeks, his current claim has to be regarded as a new claim. The combined total of a person's pay-related benefit and unemployment benefit cannot exceed 85 per cent of a person's earnings in the relevant income tax year. Because the earnings in the income tax year 1990-91 of the person concerned were at a reduced level, the amount of pay-related benefit payable is affected by the operation of this limit and he is only entitled to pay-related benefit on the current claim at the rate of £2.30 per week. Consequently, his overall entitlement for this claim is less than for his earlier claim.
131 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Social Welfare if arrears of pension due to a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim have now been paid.
The person concerned was awarded a retirement pension at the rate of £58 per week, with effect from 26 July 1990, i.e., the Thursday following the date on which outstanding social insurance contributions were paid by his former employer on his behalf.
Investigations are still continuing into the matter of the retrospective award of arrears of pension from the date of the person's 65th birthday and he will be notified of the outcome as soon as possible.
