Vol. 431 No. 1
69 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason for the nonpayment of free telephone rental allowance and other benefits to Irish people who have returned to this State and who are in receipt of British pensions but whose income may be lower than persons receiving pensions paid by this State; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The free schemes administered by my Department, such as free telephone rental allowance, free electricity allowance and free television licence, are available to people who are in receipt of social welfare type pensions and who are living alone or only with certain exempted people. People in receipt of social security pensions from Britain or from other EC countries or from countries with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement and who satisfy the living-alone conditions may also qualify for these allowances.
