Vol. 471 No. 5
91 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Finance if he will extend the tax free allowance for the installation of security alarms to elderly couples in view of the fact that this allowance is only granted to people living alone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21292/96]
The provision in question was introduced to assist elderly individuals on their own. It can be availed of by the persons themselves or by relatives who purchase alarms on their behalf. I have no proposals at this time to extend the relief further.
However, this tax measure is only part of the Government's broader strategy to assist the elderly. The Minister for Social Welfare established a task force in January of this year to examine how the security needs of elderly persons who could not benefit from the tax relief might best be addressed. As a result, a number of initiatives were launched last February, one of which involved £2 million in grant aid being made available this year to voluntary groups for security initiatives for the elderly, including the installation of physical security equipment such as monitored alarm systems.
