Vol. 537 No. 1
18 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of social welfare recipients who have utilised the home budget plan facility provided by his Department to allow rent payment to local authorities to be taken at source; if the home budget plan is available to all recipients irrespective of the scheme or allowance which they obtain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15173/01]
The household budget scheme enables person in receipt of certain social welfare payments to have deductions made from their weekly payments to pay a range of bills, including local authority rents and mortgages as well as payments of various utilities.
The scheme is operated by An Post for my Department. Persons wishing to join the scheme apply at their local post office and request An Post to make the necessary arrangements to have the deductions made and remitted to the relevant local authorities and utilities.
The service is available to persons who are paid at post offices by a payment method known as postdraft. This covers all unemployed persons. Arrangements can be made to cater for persons who are in receipt of one parent family payment, disability allowance and invalidity pension by having them transferred from their present payment system to the postdraft payment method.
It is not possible at present to extend this facility to old age pensioners. The required modification to the computer system is not possible because of priority tasks such as the conversion of all payment systems to cater for the euro changeover.
A major project to develop a new computer system for all long-term payments, including pensions, will commence shortly. This system, when fully implemented will allow household budgeting to be extended to pensioners.
The total number of persons currently availing of the household budgetary facility in respect of local authority rents and mortgages is 11,886. The total number of people availing of the scheme is 14,057.
