The household budget scheme is available to recipients of social welfare payments who are paid through electronic payments systems operated by An Post.
The household budget scheme is a facility under which certain social welfare recipients can have agreed deductions made at source from their payments and paid over to certain nominated organisations. The deductions are made by An Post who also generate the payment to the nominated organisation.
The scheme involves automatic computer-generated deductions and can only apply where customers are paid through An Post using electronic payment systems. At present the scheme is available to unemployed persons who are generally paid through post offices and to recipients of one parent family payments, invalidity pension and disability allowance who opt to be paid through a card-based electronic payment system. The scheme will be extended to other social welfare payments as soon as the necessary computer developments can be carried out after the year 2000 transition.
The payments which can be made under the system are rent/mortgage payments to local authorities or recognised housing associations and payments to the ESB, Bord Gáis and Eircom.
The scheme is available to eligible customers nationwide. All of the major local authorities operate the scheme as do 41 of the 49 urban district councils. The UDCs not included at present are Clonakilty, Fermoy, Kinsale, Midleton, Youghal, Ballinasloe, Castleblayney and Birr. However, eligible customers in these towns can avail of the scheme for the utilities mentioned previously.
The household budget scheme is working well and there are 82 local authorities using the scheme at present with some £276,000 collected each week by deduction.
The overall number availing of the scheme currently stands at 14,774.
