Vol. 474 No. 1
161 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to increase the uptake of state-of-the-art financial transfer option, such as facilitating the electronic transfer of social welfare payments to a client's account and the potential for providing money transfer services for bill paying in areas such as electricity, telephone and television licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2622/97]
In recent years my Department has introduced a facility for the payment of a wide range of social welfare entitlements by electronic funds transfer to personal accounts at banks and other financial institutions, including An Post.
This facility is now available to recipients of the following social welfare payment schemes — old age contributory and non-contributory, widow's-widower's and orphan's, retirement and invalidity pensions, long-term disability, death and child benefits and back-to-work and disability allowances. At present, about 108,000 customers have exercised this option. As the next step in this process, the facility is now being extended to people receiving non-contributory widow's pensions.
A household budgeting or bill-paying facility is available for unemployed customers who received their payments through An Post. They may opt to have deductions made from their weekly payments and remitted on their behalf to a range of utilities. Participating utilities include 48 local authorities and the St. Pancras Housing Association in respect of housing rents — Telecom Éireann — in respect of telephone charges — and the Electricity Supply Board and Bord Gais — in respect of energy charges. At present a total of 11,000 unemployed customers avail of this service each week. This facility is now being extended to the lone parent customer group.
Social Welfare customers whose payments are transferred to accounts at banks and other financial institutions have access to the bill-paying services which are provided by those institutions.
These developments are taking place within the context of my overall aim of ensuring that the most modern and the widest range of payment methods are available to social welfare customers. To this end, my Department is examining the new technologies and "cashless" money transmission facilities which are now coming on stream. The aim is to further expand the range of electronic payment methods and facilities from which customers may choose according to their personal needs and circumstances.
