Vol. 513 No. 3
237 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if a supplementary rent allowance will be granted to a person (details supplied) in County Limerick in view of the fact the person is on disability benefit and has been refused and, due to his economic circumstances, his family should be considered for this payment. [2456/00]
Under the SWA scheme, a weekly supplement may be paid in respect of rent or mortgage interest to people in receipt of social welfare or health board payments. Entitlement to a supplement is determined by the health boards and supplements are normally calculated to ensure that the person, after payment of rent or mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to the family circumstances, less the nominal sum of £6. This £6 represents the minimum contribution which clients are required to pay from their own resources towards their accommodation costs.
People seeking a rent supplement from a health board must first satisfy the health board that they have a housing need that they are unable to meet from their own resources. Secondly, the health board must be satisfied that the residence is reasonably suited to the residential and other needs of the claimant and that the rent payable is just and proper having regard to the nature, character and location of the residence.
238 Ms Clune asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason he did not increase the child dependant allowance in the 2000 budget; the proposals, if any, he has to increase this allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2642/00]
The policy direction followed by successive Governments in recent years has been to concentrate resources for child income support on child benefit, rather than increasing child dependant allowances, thus ensuring that the supports provided by the State are more neutral vis-à-vis the employment status of the parent(s). Unlike child dependant allowances, child benefit does not contribute to poverty traps or work disincentives, as it is a universal payment which is not subject to a means test.
In line with this policy approach, substantial additional resources have been invested in the child benefit scheme since this Government came into office. The full-year costs of the increases provided for in the 1998 budget amounted to some £28.4 million, while the 1999 budget included a full-year provision of over £40 million.
More recently, the 2000 budget provides for a full-year investment of some £106 million in the child benefit scheme. From September of this year, the child benefit rates will have risen to £42.50 in respect of the first two children and £56.00 in respect of the third and subsequent children.
239 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 198 of 15 December 1999, the number of widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 whose late spouses had been in receipt of free schemes and who retained that entitlement; the number of other widows and widowers over the age of 60 whose late spouses had not been in receipt of free schemes and who therefore do not qualify for receipt of the free schemes; the cost of extending free schemes to all these widows and widowers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2217/00]
Widows/widowers aged from 60 to 65 whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free schemes retain that entitlement, provided they continue to meet the normal conditions for eligibility. This is to ensure as far as possible that households do not suffer a loss of entitlements following the death of a spouse.
There are 1,164 widows and widowers between 60 and 65 years of age who are in receipt of free electricity/gas allowance and free TV licence under this special provision. There are 454 free telephone rental allowances in payment to this group, of which all but 22 clients also have entitlement to free electricity/gas allowance. Overall, there are 13,356 widows and widower pensioners in this age range, from which it can be derived that approximately 12,192 of this group do not have any free scheme entitlements under current rules. The cost of extending the schemes in these cases is estimated at £3.5 million.
A fundamental review of the free schemes is being carried out to assess whether the objectives of these schemes are being achieved in the most efficient and effective manner. This includes an examination of the qualifying conditions for the schemes and the target groups to be covered. The question of any further extension of the schemes to groups not yet covered would have to be considered in the context of that review and of overall budgetary considerations.
240 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will review the request by a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1 to be placed on deserted wife's benefit. [2218/00]
The person concerned, who had been in receipt of deserted wife's allowance up to 1990, qualified for lone parent's allowance and subsequently for one-parent family payment which replaced lone parent's allowance in 1997. She lost entitlement to the one-parent family payment on 5 May 1999 as she no longer had a qualified child. Under existing legislation, payment of the deserted wife's allowance, which she had been receiving up to 1990, cannot be restored.
I intend providing in the forthcoming Social Welfare Bill, which will be brought before the Oireachtas shortly, that deserted wife's allowance will be restored in cases such as this, provided the conditions which applied to recipients of the allowance are satisfied.
Meanwhile, if the person concerned is in financial need, it is open to her to apply for unemployment assistance or supplementary welfare allowance.
