Tom Hayes
Question:583 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason the Government continues to means-test the blind pension. [30807/03]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
The blind pension is a means-tested pension payable to people who are resident in the State and are blind or visually impaired. The blind pension has been historically linked with the old age non-contributory pension. It is payable subject to the same general means test conditions as that pension. Those persons in receipt of a blind pension automatically qualify for free travel and may also qualify for the free schemes operated by my Department subject, of course, to the normal qualifying criteria. Blind pensions form part of the social assistance payments which target resources towards those most in need. In this regard, account is taken for the purposes of determining entitlement to all such payments of the means of the claimant and his or her spouse or partner.
There have been significant improvements in the means tests for persons with disabilities in recent years. In the cases of the blind pension and disability allowance, for example, up to €120 a week from rehabilitative employment is not assessed. The amounts of capital that a claimant and his or her spouse or partner can have and still qualify for payment have been substantially increased. The number of recipients of blind pension has been reducing in recent years as a consequence of a number of factors, including medical advances and the fact that many people who become blind have been in the workforce and qualify for non-means-tested contributory social insurance payments, such as disability benefit, invalidity pension and old age contributory pension. It would be difficult to justify paying non-means-tested payments to one particular group of people with disabilities and not to all others. It should be noted that 85% of blind pensioners are in receipt of the maximum rate of pension.
Richard Bruton
Question:584 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the telephone allowance available to elderly persons can be applied for the use of mobile phones; and if she will consider extending a special package of relief for mobile phones which are particularly of use to the elderly who may need to get help in an emergency. [30822/03]
John Deasy
Question:609 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the progress which has been made in applying the free telephone rental allowance for qualifying applicants to mobile phone users; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31393/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 584 and 609 together.
I am committed to the development of the free telephone rental allowance scheme to respond to the expanding telecoms market and to facilitate a greater choice of telephone services among social welfare recipients. My Department is in ongoing discussions with the Commission for Communications Regulation to develop the necessary technical and administrative arrangements to extend the scheme to mobile phone services. It is envisaged that the arrangements will be finalised in the first quarter of 2004. It will then be a matter for individual licensed mobile phone companies to offer services to telephone allowance customers.