Vol. 494 No. 5
67 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the consideration, if any, his Department has given to offer assistance towards the cost of cable television charges to social welfare recipients; his views in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18723/98]
The free TV licence scheme is available to people 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. Certain people with disabilities under that age who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments also qualify. In addition, widows/widowers between the ages of 60 and 65 whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free TV licence scheme retain that entitlement. More than 200,000 people qualified for this scheme in 1997 at an annual cost of some £14 million.
The range of the free schemes currently available does not include assistance towards the cost of cable television or other forms of deflected television systems. Any extension of these schemes would involve additional expenditure which could only be considered in a budgetary context.
