Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 20 Oct 1994

Vol. 446 No. 2

Written Answers. - Entitlements of Former Building Workers.

Bernard Allen

Question:

45 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to address the anomalies in the Social Welfare system whereby building workers who have contributed to a construction industry pension are being penalised relative to other contributory old age pensioners in view of the fact that they do not receive free fuel benefit or free television licence in spite of the fact that their building industry pensions are taxed; the further plans, if any, he has to address the anomaly whereby persons in receipt of British social welfare pensions on top of contributory Irish pensions can get free fuel and free television licence whereas those who are getting the same amount of money from a private pension such as the building industry pension cannot get free fuel or television licence. [266/94]

Minister for Social Welfare (Dr. Woods)

Building workers are compulsorily insurable under the provisions of the Social Welfare Acts and liable for social insurance contributions. When they reach pension age, they may qualify for a contributory old age pension subject to fulfilling the contribution conditions, or, if they have not sufficient contributions to their credit, may qualify for a non-contributory old age pension.

Both the contributory old age pension and the non-contributory old age pension are qualifying payments for schemes such as the fuel allowance and free television licence allowance but, in order to qualify, the pensioner must satisfy the conditions, including the living-alone conditions, of those schemes. The position regarding British pensioners is that, within the framework of our international obligations, social security pensions from any country in the European Union or with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement are treated as a qualifying payment analogous to Irish social welfare pensions.

Any occupational pension to which the pensioner is entitled in addition to a contributory or non-contributory pension does not affect entitlement to the free television licence. However, for the purposes of the fuel allowance there is a means test under which, to qualify for the allowance the household must not have an income more than £5 a week over the level of the contributory social welfare pension. This limit applies equally whatever the source of the additional income.