Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 5 Oct 1995

Vol. 456 No. 5

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Mary Wallace

Question:

108 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Social Welfare the level of spending in his Department on schemes for assisting people with disabilities with their travel requirements; and the procedures employed to ensure that the objectives of these schemes are met. [14225/95]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The Free Travel Scheme and, in particular, the Free Travel Companion Pass which was introduced in 1990 are the principal means by which my Department assists people with disabilities with regard to their travel requirements. Under the arrangements currently in force, certain incapacitated people, who are medically unfit to travel alone, may qualify for a Free Travel Companion Pass which enables the holder to be accompanied free of charge by a person over age 16 when travelling. The categories eligible for receipt of the Companion Pass include recipients of Blind Person's Pension from my Department, recipients of Invalidity Pension who are medically certified as being permanently wheelchair bound, and recipients of Disabled Person's Maintenance Allowance from the health boards who have been medically certified as being unfit to travel alone.

Expenditure on the Free Travel Scheme, including the Companion Pass, is estimated to be £31 million this year with a total of some 470,000 people benefiting.

In common with most of the schemes operated by my Department, the Free Travel Companion Pass Scheme is kept under regular review to see what improvements can be made in the light of available resources.

Seamus Brennan

Question:

109 Mr. S. Brennan asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total cost of the single parents allowance budgeted for in the current year; the total amount in the last financial year; the total amount in the first year in which it was introduced in the form of the unmarried mother's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14234/95]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table:—

	1995	1994	1973
	Estimate	Expenditure	Expenditure* (Unmarried Mother's Allowance)
Loan Parent's Allowance	£193.6m	£170.5m	£0.5m

* Unmarried Mother's Allowance introduced in July 1973 — expenditure covers period July 1973 — 31 March 1974.

In 1990, recipients of Unmarried Mother's Allowance (UMA) were amalgamated with recipients (with children) of Deserted Wife's Allowance, Widow's (Non-Contributory) Pension and Prisoner's Wife's Allowance to form a new Lone Parent's Allowance Scheme.

The increase in expenditure on Lone Parent's Allowance is related to changes in payment rates, changes in the number and categories of recipients and changes in the composition of household types which affects the number of beneficiaries.

At 31 March 1974 there were 1,633 recipients of Unmarried Mother's Allowance with 2,074 dependent children while at 31 December 1994 there were 40,700 recipients of Lone Parent's Allowance with dependent 65,141 children.

Noel Ahern

Question:

110 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give details of the amount spent on rent allowance and mortgage supplement by each individual health board in 1994; and if any similar analysis of the expenditure prior to 1994 is being undertaken. [14235/95]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The following table shows expenditure for 1994 on rent and mortgage supplements under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme on a health board basis:

Health Board	Rent Suppl,	Mortgage Suppl.	Total
	£m.	£m.	£m.
Eastern	25.99	4.846	30.836
Midland	1.352	0.195	1.547
Mid-Western	2.25	0.478	2.728
North-Eastern	1.489	0.775	2.264
North-Western	1.352	0.195	1.547
South-Eastern	2.313	0.511	2.824
Southern	5.948	1.184	7.132
Western	4.193	0.841	5.034

Detailed information on expenditure on rent and mortgage supplements on a Health Board basis prior to 1994 is not available. This type of information was provided for in 1994 following the introduction of a new system for the collection of data relating to the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.