Vol. 485 No. 1
84 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will extend the Christmas 1997 bonus to those in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22519/97]
This year's Christmas bonus was paid in the first week of December to 722,000 people who receive long-term social welfare payments including: disablement pension, death benefit by way of pension, old age contributory and non-contributory pensions, retirement pension, invalidity pension, widow's and widower's non-contributory pension, widow's and widower's contributory pension, orphan's contributory and non-contributory pensions, preretirement allowance, blind pension, carer's allowance, one parent family payment, payments to people formerly in receipt of deserted wife's benefit and allowance and prisoner's wife's allowance unemployment assistance at the long-term rate, disability allowance. The bonus payment amounts to 70 per cent of the person's normal weekly payment subject to a minimum bonus payment of £20. The cost of this measure is estimated at £41 million. The bonus is targeted at those who are on long-term payments and there are no plans to extend it to recipients of short-term payments.
85 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of widows over 60 years who are currently not in receipt of the free schemes whose husbands died when under 66 years or were not in receipt of the scheme; if he will grant these schemes to widows at 60 years; the approximate annual cost in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter, particularly in relation to the perception that widows feel they are discriminated against due to the fact that their husbands worked and they would receive the schemes if their husbands were on long-term invalidity and so on. [22545/97]
The free schemes such as the free electricity allowance, the free telephone rental allowance and free television licence 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 this condition. In addition, widows and widowers between the ages of 60 and 65, whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free schemes, retain that entitlement. Widows and widowers may also be eligible for a fuel allowance subject to satisfying a means test.
