Paul McGrath
Question:335 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of old age non-contributory pension recipients who claim an adult dependant allowance for a person over 66 years of age. [23473/99]
Written Answers. - Pension Provisions.
There were 93,570 recipients of old age non-contributory pension at the end of October 1999. Nine hundred and fifty-nine persons were in receipt of an increase in respect of a qualified adult aged 66 years or over and a further 4,317 persons were in receipt of an increase in respect of a qualified adult aged under 66 years of age.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:337 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the entitlement to those aged 75 years or over to free electricity allowance and other free schemes; if those over 75 years who may be entitled to these have been notified of their entitlement; if those who apply for the scheme are given their entitlement backdated to the age of 75; and, if not, the reason in this regard. [23475/99]
In order to qualify for the free scheme allowances – electricity/gas, television licence, telephone – a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and be living alone or only with certain excepted people. From 1997 people over 75 years who are in receipt of a qualifying social welfare type payment can receive these allowances regardless of their household composition or medical circumstances. Those not in receipt of a qualifying payment may qualify for the free schemes, subject to satisfying a means test.
Anyone over 66 who is permanently resident in the State is entitled to a free travel pass. Persons over 75 are entitled to a companion free travel pass if they are unable to travel alone.
The various free scheme extensions for the over 75s were announced in the relevant budgets and received extensive publicity at those times. The Department has operated a freephone service each year following the budget to deal with client inquiries. Details of these allowances are also widely available in all the Department's offices and at post offices and community information centres countrywide.
The Department recently posted a booklet to 311,000 old age and widow(er) pensioners aged 65 and over who are in receipt of a social welfare pension, to mark the UN International Year of older persons. This comprehensive booklet is aimed at assisting pensioners to identify their social welfare and other social service entitlements – including entitlement to all the free schemes. The Department also intends to issue a specific mailshot next year to all pensioners over 75 who are not in receipt of the free schemes, to notify them individually of their potential entitlements and to obtain account details for bill credit purposes where this is relevant.
Backdating of the free schemes was first introduced in June 1996. Those who apply and are awarded the schemes are entitled to apply for a backdate if they have good cause for having applied late. Unless there are exceptional circumstances this backdating extends to two years in addition to the year in which the application was made.
In the case of persons over 75 years of age, their free scheme entitlement is backdated automatically to age 75 or to when the entitlement was first introduced, if they were over 75 at that stage.