Vol. 514 No. 3
273 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive his old age non-contributory pension in view of the fact his application has been ongoing for a few months. [3950/00]
An application for old age, non-contributory pension was received from the person concerned on 8 November 1999. The necessary inquiries have now been completed and pension has been awarded to him at the weekly rate of £116.70, with effect from 19 November 1999, the first pension pay date after he reached 66 years of age. This comprises a personal rate of £74.50 and a qualified adult allowance of £42.20 in respect of his wife. His pension rate is based on weekly means of £9.42, deriving from the net yearly value of his farm holding. A pension order book will be issued in the next few days.
A decision will be made in relation to his entitlement to a child dependant allowance as soon as the necessary evidence in relation to his son's continuing education is received.
274 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the guidelines applying to the grant of £1,000 for widows or widowers with dependent children following the death of a spouse. [4060/00]
The widowed parent's grant of £1,000 which I announced in the recent budget, is a new scheme designed to assist with the income support needs of widows and widowers with dependent children in the immediate aftermath of a bereavement. Provision for the new scheme is contained in the current Social Welfare Bill which has been published this week. Guidelines on the operation of the new scheme will be prepared as soon as the Bill is enacted and the guidelines will be published on the Department's website at www.welfare.ie. A copy will be forwarded to the Deputy at that stage.
It is intended that the grant will be paid to a person who becomes a widow or widower on or after 1 December 1999 provided he or she has at least one qualified child normally residing with him or her. Where a person claims either a widow's or widower's contributory pension or a one parent family payment, the £1,000 grant will be paid automatically by cheque once the condition relating to child dependency is satisfied. Where a person is not pursuing a claim to such a payment, application for the grant may be made to the widows/widower's pension section of the Department at College Road, Sligo.
A qualified child for the purpose of the grant is a child under 18 years or a child between the ages of 18 and 22 who is in full-time education.
