Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 27 Apr 1993

Vol. 429 No. 6

Written Answers. - Free Telephone Allowance.

Andrew Boylan

Question:

87 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a free telephone rental allowance has not been granted to a person (details supplied) in County Cavan; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this person may have to call a doctor at any given time during the day or night because of her illness and that therefore the telephone is a necessity; the reason she should be penalised because her daughter sleeps in her house occasionally; and if he will grant a free telephone rental allowance to this person.

Minister for Social Welfare (Dr. Woods)

One of the conditions for receipt of free telephone rental allowance is that the claimant must reside alone or only with certain excepted categories of people. Such categories consist of child(ren) under age 15 and/or other person(s) who are so permanently incapacitated that they would be unable to summon assistance in an emergency.

The person concerned was awarded free telephone rental allowance from September 1990. At the time she resided alone and fulfilled all the conditions for receipt of his allowance. However, her entitlement to the allowance was reviewed in September 1992. In response to a questionnaire which issued to her then, she informed my Department that her daughter was residing with her. According to the information available to my Department, the daughter of the person concerned is not one of the excepted categories of people mentioned above. In these circumstances, the conditions for receipt of the allowance were no longer satisfied and it, therefore, became necessary to withdraw her allowance.

If the household circumstances of the person concerned change, it is open to her to re-apply for the allowance at any time.