Vol. 449 No. 3
83 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will amend the free electricity allowance scheme in order that persons over 18 years of age who are on social welfare may reside with the recipient of a free electricity allowance without the loss of the allowance.[3552/95]
The free electricity allowance scheme operated by my Department is available only to people who are in receipt of welfare type pensions and who satisfy the living alone condition attached to the scheme. It is essentially designed for elderly or disabled people living alone with a view to encouraging them to live at home rather than to go into residential care. About 185,000 people receive the allowance at present at an annual cost of about £25 million.
As regards the living alone condition, it is not necessary that entitlement should be limited to persons actually living alone. The living alone condition, as currently applied, allows certain persons to live with the pensioner without affecting entitlement. They include a dependent spouse, children under age 18, or up to 21 if in full-time education, or a carer in the case of an invalid. Where the pensioner is over 75 years of age, the free electricity allowance continues in place where the living alone condition ceases to be satisfied by virtue of somebody moving in with the pensioner.
