Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 12 Nov 1997

Vol. 482 No. 6

Written Answers. - Free Schemes.

Richard Bruton

Question:

338 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will review the rule whereby a person, who is aged over 22 and is in full-time study, will disqualify a pensioner parent from receipt of the free schemes when living with them, in view of the fact that it is his Department's active policy to promote second chance education by mature students. [18882/97]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

The free schemes of free electricity allowance, free colour television licence and free telephone rental allowance are available to people, usually aged 66 or over, who are in receipt of a welfare type payment and who are either living alone or who otherwise satisfy the condition. In addition, widows and widowers between the age of 60 and 65, whose late spouses had entitlement to the free schemes, retain that entitlement notwithstanding their age.

Last June the qualifying conditions for the free electricity allowance and free telephone rental allowance were brought into closer alignment. Previously the free telephone rental allowance was payable if the recipient resided with dependent children aged under 18 years. That age limit was extended to 22 years for children who are in full-time education. This change put the allowance on a par with the rules applying to the free electricity allowance.

My Department's back-to-education programmes provide a range of incentives to encourage persons in receipt of income supports to pursue courses of education. The programmes include the retention of social welfare payments, the second level allowance and the third level allowance.

The second and third level allowances are educational opportunities schemes which are designed to encourage unemployed people to return to full-time education in order to enhance their employment prospects.

However, the question of extending the age limit for full-time students beyond the age of 22, for the purposes of retaining entitlement to the free schemes, would have cost implications which would have to be considered in the light of the resources available.