Vol. 420 No. 6
188 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of recipients of Irish old age non-contributory pensions who have had their pensions recently reduced as a result of annual increases since 1986 in their British retirement pensions.
191 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total number of old age non-contributory pensioners in County Donegal who are also in receipt of United Kingdom, Department of Health and Social Security benefits; and the number who have had their Irish allowance adjusted downwards by income assessment carried out since January 1991.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 188 and 191 together.
Persons in receipt of an income by way of pension or otherwise from here or abroad may be entitled to a non-contributory Old Age Pension as a supplement to the other income where their total means are below the means limits for the non-contributory pension. The rate of the non-contributory pension varies with the amount of the other income and persons in these circumstances are obliged to inform the Department of any increase in their means and to have their pension adjusted accordingly.
To ensure that these requirements are being met, the Department periodically reviews the means of non-contributory Old Age Pensioners. On a recent review of 8,657 such pensioners, 6,490 had their pensions reduced because of increases in their British Retirement Pension since 1985, 128 had them revoked, 27 were awarded increased pensions and 951 recipients were unaffected.
Approximately 1,300 of these recipients live in County Donegal, and to date, 1,243 have had their income reassessed. Details of the effects of the reassessments on these recipients are not separately available.
The rules relating to the assessment of means are set out in Social Welfare legislation and the Department has no discretion in cases of this nature. However, if the persons concerned are dissatisfied with their means assessments, it is open to them to apply to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office for a further review.
189 Mr. Leyden asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will investigate an application for an old age contributory pension for a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon.
The person concerned originally applied for an Old Age Contributory Pension in November 1985. His application was rejected at the time as he had insufficient insurance contributions to qualify him for this type of pension.
However, following an investigation of his means, he was awarded an Old Age Non-Contributory Pension at the maximum rate with effect from November 1985. This pension currently amounts to £83 per week inclusive of an Adult Dependant Allowance in respect of his spouse.
The pensioner's entitlement to a Pro Rata Old Age Contributory Pension under EC regulations was examined in 1986. This pension is based upon a combination of his Irish and UK insurance contributions. It was decided that, while he would qualify for this type of pension, the rate of payment to which he would have been entitled was significantly less than that which he was receiving in Old Age Non-Contributory Pension. Both pensions could not be paid concurrently and the non-contributory pension remains in payment as it was more financially beneficial to him. The rate of pension payable to him now falls to be reviewed in the light of the amount of British Retirement Pension also in payment to him.
There is no record of an application for Old Age Non-Contributory Pension having been received from the pensioner's spouse. An application form issued to her recently. As soon as this is completed and returned to the Department, her entitlement to pension will be investigated.
190 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to (a) the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 who was awarded a carer's allowance and who now finds that the mortgage assistance received was reduced by a similar amount leaving them no better off and (b) the trap this family is in as set out in a letter (details supplied); if he will make a statement on this trap in which so many people on social welfare are prevented from in any way improving their lot; and if he will outline the changes he proposes to make.
There is provision under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for assistance to be given to people towards mortgage interest payments, on a similar basis to assistance with rent payments. As in the case of rent supplements, mortgage interest supplements are calculated so as to leave the claimants with an income, after payment of mortgage interest, of the appropriate Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate for their family size less £3.50.
Supplements paid under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme are recalculated to take account of any change in the household income of claimants. The husband of the person referred to by the Deputy had been in receipt of a mortgage interest supplement in the amount of £56.30 per week at end March 1992 in addition to his Long Term Unemployment Assistance payment of £123.80 per week. Following the award of a Carer's Allowance to his wife, his mortgage interest supplement has to be recalculated in line with the regulations governing the scheme.
The issue raised by the Deputy arises because of the different rates of payment under different social welfare schemes. It is my intention to rationalise the present system so as to achieve a more standardised approach to income support for persons dependent on the social welfare system.
