Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Brendan Smith
Question:
14
Mr. B. Smith
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
if he will extend the free telephone rental allowance to persons who are in receipt of pensions as a result of their employment in the public service but who are not in receipt of a pension from the Department of Social Welfare, particularly if their health necessitates a telephone service.
[13973/95]
Tom Moffatt
Question:
76
Dr. Moffatt
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
if he will extend free travel to civil servants who retire on health grounds prior to reaching the age of 65 years.
[14024/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 76 together.
The free telephone rental allowance administered by my Department is available only to people who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments and who are either living alone or only with children or persons who, because they are so permanently incapacitated, could not get help in an emergency. The number of people getting the allowance at present is about 130,000 at an annual cost of some £20 million. Depending on the level of the pension, a former public servant may be entitled to receive an old age, non-contributory, pension from my Department at a reduced rate and, if he or she is so entitled and can satisfy the living alone condition of the scheme, he or she will qualify for the free telephone rental allowance.
The free travel scheme is available to every resident in the State who is 66 years of age or over, including retired civil and public servants. It is also available to people under 66 years of age who are in receipt of certain payments such as invalidity pension from my Department or disabled person's maintenance allowance from the health boards.
Extending the free telephone rental allowance or the free travel scheme to categories who do not qualify under the current conditions would have financial inplications and could only be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of available resources.
Michael P. Kitt
Question:
16
Mr. M. Kitt
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
if he will consider a less cumbersome and less costly method of administering the free television licence scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13571/95]
The free television licence scheme has been in operation since 1968. Since then it has benefited many of the less well-off members of our society who might otherwise have experienced difficulty in meeting the once-off annual cost of their television licence. At the end of August 1995, some 183,000 people were in receipt of a free television licence at an annual cost to the Exchequer of £10.5 million.
The free television licence scheme has been improved significantly by the Government this year. From this month all qualified pensioners may claim a free colour television licence as soon as their current licence expires. Up to now, about half of eligible pensioners were entitled to receive a monochrome licence only, and had to pay the balance of £18 themselves in order to be validly licensed if they owned a colour television set. This new development will simplify the arrangements for such pensioners, as well as increasing the value of the allowance to them. The extra cost of this scheme improvement is about £1.5 million in a full year. Under current arrangements people who qualify for a free licence must obtain their licence from a post office in the same way as members of the public in general.
The question of introducing a less cumbersome method of administering the free television licence scheme was raised by the Public Accounts Committee in its interim report on theCollection of TV Licences, published in September 1994. One of the options under consideration in this connection is the automation of licence issue to pensioners under the free television licence scheme. The extension of the scheme to cover colour licences for all from this month which I referred to earlier has eliminated a major obstacle to this process. Work on the necessary changes is at an early stage and I expect that the relevant operational, accounting and coverage issues will be resolved quickly so that the necessary computer system development can be undertaken in An Post and in my Department. I am satisfied that change along these lines will be more efficient and will result in a less cumbersome service for pensioners.
