Michael Ring
Question:321 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will consider introducing a minimum disability allowance of £100 per week, index linked. [4583/01]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Last December's record social welfare budget allocation of £850 million provided for significant improvements for people with disabilities, including a £10 per week increase for people with disabilities aged 66 years and over; an £8 per week increase for people with disabilities aged under 66 years; increases to be paid four weeks earlier than last year, from April 2001; fuel allowance to be extended by three extra weeks, from first week in October to late April; additional £6 per week living alone allowance to be paid to recipients of invalidity pension, disability allowance, unemployability supplement and blind person's pension from April 2001; full rate disability allowance to be paid where the person's partner is in receipt of any other social welfare payment, from April 2001, weekly increases of between £35 and £46; current exemption of income, up to £150,000, from the sale of a pensioner's residence to be extended to people getting disability allowance and blind person's pension from April 2001; access to back to education allowance for all people with disabilities following completion of a community employment scheme; and £1 million extra for Comhairle information service.
The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness contains a commitment to make substantial progress over the period to 2003 towards a target rate of £100 per week for the lowest social welfare rates. The improvements provided in the recent budget are fully in line with this commitment.
In addition, as provided for in the PPF, a working group, which includes representatives of the various social partners, has been established to examine the range of complex issues associated with the benchmarking and indexation of adult and child social welfare payments. As part of its deliberations, the working group will be examining the implications of adopting a specific approach to the ongoing up-rating or indexation of payments, including their long-term economic, budgetary, PRSI contribution, distributive and incentive implications, in the light of trends in economic, demographic and labour market patterns.
It is envisaged that the working group will complete its deliberations later this year and I look forward to receiving the results in due course.
John Dennehy
Question:322 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the procedure which will be put in place to ensure persons aged over 70 years, who are due to benefit from free television licences from May 2001, will not be forced to pay a full 12 month licence fee for licences due prior to May 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4702/01]
The free schemes, including the free television licence scheme, are generally available to people aged 66 years or over, who are living alone and in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who pass a means test.
They are also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 years who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments and widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 years whose late spouses had been in receipt.
From October 2000, the free schemes, including the free television licence scheme, were extended to all persons aged 75 years and over, regardless of their income and household composition. I made provision in budget 2001 to further extend the free schemes to all persons aged 70 years and over from May 2001.
In line with normal practice, the free television licence will be awarded from the next due renewal date of the licence following the date of award. There are no proposals to change this practice.