Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Jun 1995

Vol. 454 No. 3

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefit.

Ivor Callely

Question:

83 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social Welfare the consideration which has been given or research, if any, which has been undertaken in relation to introducing radical and wide-ranging additional benefits to recipients of old-age pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10564/95]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

It is not clear what additional benefits the Deputy has in mind. While overall the levels of all social welfare payments need to be increased, old age pensions have increased, in real terms, by over 40 per cent over the past 20 years. Social welfare expenditure on transfers to the elderly amounts to £1,068 million this year equivalent to over 26 per cent of total social welfare expenditure. This expenditure is in respect of over 321,000 elderly people, including their dependants.

The free schemes administered by my Department include free travel, free electricity allowance, free natural gas allowance, free telephone rental allowance and free television licence. They are available, in the case of free travel, to all persons in the State aged 66 years and over and to certain disabled people under age 66 and, in the case of the other schemes, to persons who are in receipt of a welfare-type payment who satisfy the living alone condition. In addition the free fuel allowance is available to elderly people who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs.

The free schemes are intended to serve specific purposes in relation to the people who are entitled to them. Free travel is intended to encourage the elderly or disabled to remain active in the community while the free electricity allowance, free natural gas allowance, free telephone rental allowance and the free television licence schemes are designed to encourage elderly or disabled people who are living alone on limited means to continue to live in their own homes and to provide them with an element of securityvis á vis their basic needs.

Additional weekly allowances are payable to pensioners in receipt of a social welfare payment who are living alone and to those who are over 80 years of age.

The payments to the elderly, taken together with the value of their non-cash benefits, mean that the elderly are at the higher end of the social welfare payment structure and I have to take this into account in allocating further resources.

My Department is currently examining the final report of the National Pensions Board, whichinter alia, looked at the structure of pension provision. In addition, as part of the budgetary process we examine the various reports of the voluntary groups in this area.

Any further improvements in or enhancements of the existing programmes would have to be considered in the light of these reports and the availability of additional financial resources. If the Deputy has any specific proposals in mind I will have them considered.

Chris Flood

Question:

84 Mr. Flood asked the Minister for Social Welfare the special qualifying or other conditions, if any, which apply to the payment of social welfare to members of the travelling community which do not normally apply to social welfare recipients in the settled community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10559/95]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

Members of the travelling community do not have to satisfy any special qualifying conditions for social welfare payments over and above those required of the settled community. Special signing arrangements did apply to members of the travelling community who were in receipt of unemployment assistance whereby they were required to sign on at a specified time each week at designated social welfare local offices. The arrangements were reviewed last year in the context of improvements to the signing arrangements for unemployed people generally. Members of the travelling community, in common with claimants generally, are now required to sign on once a month only and at the social welfare local office nearest to where they are living. They are paid each week at their local post office. I am keeping the new arrangements under review to see what further changes may be necessary to improve the present arrangements and reflect more closely the particular life-style of travellers.