I understand that provision has now been made for amendment No. 25 which has been ruled out of order. It sought the establishment of a scheme of assistance for pensioners to assist them with the cost of home security. I welcome the provisions under that scheme. I regret that I did not receive a copy of it until today. While I assume it was sent out last week I did not get to Dublin until today. Generally, it is what people are looking for — ways and means of assisting people to provide greater security in their own homes.
SECTION 26.
Amendment No. 25 no moved.
Question proposed: "That section 26 stand part of the Bill."
I thank the Deputy for welcoming the announcement of a security package for the elderly which comes to about £8 million. It includes an extension to £5 million of the £1.5 million tax relief which the Minister for Finance announced in the budget. In addition, £2 million will be provided by my Department to voluntary and community organisations which apply for assistance to provide security devices for elderly people living alone who cannot provide for them from their own resources. We are also providing for a potential cost of £1 million for the telephone rental allowance for elderly people who currently qualify but have decided not to avail of it for whatever reason.
There are a range of other proposals and recommendations in the report, all of which are of value. Electronic devices on their own will not provide security for people. There is a need for community support for elderly people living alone.
I thank members of the task force who at very short notice agreed to participate and produced a report within a matter of weeks containing serious recommendations which the Government has now adopted. We are in the process of putting the necessary resources in place to implement them. We expect to do a lot of work on this between now and next winter. Wintertime is when the elderly are most at risk.
While elderly people living alone in rural areas are clearly at risk, the available evidence shows that elderly people living alone in urban areas are at even greater risk. While the sense of insecurity is probably greater than the actual threat, we must try to give the elderly peace of mind. Putting an alarm into an elderly person's house or flat is not the end of the story. They will need continuing support from community organisations if we are to restore their peace of mind.
As most pensioners do not pay tax, they feel the tax break in the budget is of no help in installing alarms. Will this £8 million package help elderly people to install alarms, or do they have to be involved with a local voluntary organisation to qualify under this new package?
We are working on the package at the moment and the report itself gives some details of the numbers involved. We are talking about tax relief for elderly people living alone who can, if they have a tax liability, claim this tax allowance. If they do not qualify for a tax allowance themselves, a relative — a son or daughter, brother or sister — can use their tax liability to avail of the tax allowance. In total it is worth in excess of £200 per person.
The £2 million for community and voluntary groups is aimed at elderly people living alone, but it could also be for an elderly couple living alone. They may not have a tax liability or perhaps have a small liability based on an occupational pension. They may not have a relative who would qualify for tax relief.
The intention would be to use various community organisations around the country to identify those at risk who do not already have alarm systems, and to assist them. I cannot give precise details but it will be operated through voluntary community organisations. The task force examined a range of options to target available resources and it was felt that this was the best way to do it.
As most pensioners do not have a tax liability they will not qualify for the £200 tax relief. If their relative has a tax liability and qualifies for the tax allowance based on the elderly person installing an alarm in their home, from what date would that apply?
The tax relief will apply from 6 April 1996.
It does not apply from the date of the budget?
No, I do not think so. In answering that I am entering the caveat that I am not the Minister for Finance. Questions relating to tax relief should more correctly be addressed to him, but I am reasonably sure that it is from 6 April. I should clarify that the tax allowance is £800 gross, but when you apply tax at the rate of 27 pence in the pound it is worth about £218.
The Minister should let people know the date it applies from when he formally announces details of the package. Many alarms were installed this winter because of the various attacks on the elderly that took place around the country. It would be a pity if people, or their relatives, who installed alarms at the time of the budget did not qualify for the allowance. The date might be looked at.
No matter what date you pick you will find that somebody is outside it.
Will the Department of Social Welfare look again at the idea of assessment of interest for the people we talked about earlier? It would be positive if the Minister's package for the elderly could deal with that issue. People are breaking into the homes of the elderly and beating them up for money. Their money should be kept in a bank rather than at home. Their means should be assessed in terms of normal interest rather than notional interest. It would be a positive move if the Department of Social Welfare could accept the normal interest rates.
I do not wish to enter in a debate on this now.
We must address our remarks to the contents of section 26.
I would draw the Deputy's attention to page 7 of the task force report which refers to the level of crime against older people. While the report is short it contains much useful material. I would be happy to discuss the report at some point if the Committee so wishes.
I do not think it is appropriate at this stage. We are on section 26.
There is not a proven case. It was not regarded as a matter of serious concern that elderly people were keeping cash in their home and were being attacked for that reason. The level of attacks on elderly people does not merit the kind of headlines we have seen. It is quite low compared to attacks on other sectors of society but the headlines give rise to a different perception. In the nature of things elderly people feel vulnerable and when they see a headline about elderly people being attacked it creates a sense of insecurity. I might come back to this point later.
I am glad there is provision to entitle a person to a pro ratapension. That is where the rate of pension is greater than the rate of EU pension or pension under a reciprocal agreement. That is encouraging because I have been for some time seeking a pro rata payment of pension to those people who began contributions in 1988. Now that we have acknowledged the position of people in a certain category and that there is payment of a pro rata pension under this section, perhaps further consideration should be given to the self-employed, whom I have spoken about on a number of occasions.
Would section 26 help the self-employed people Deputy Walsh is referring to in terms of a pro rata pension?
It will not help the category that the Deputy is referring to.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 27 to 29, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 30
Question proposed: "That section 30 stand part of the Bill."
I welcome section 30. This section allows the appeals system and provides that further appeals will go to the independent social welfare appeals office. That is to be welcomed.
There have been calls for a considerable time for an independent appeals system where supplementary welfare allowance recipients may appeal adverse decisions. This proposal ensures that where a person receives an adverse decision from a health board and they are not satisfied with the outcome of the appeal to the health board, they can refer it to the independent appeals body associated with the Department of Social Welfare, It will take time for the new system to be put in place and to be effective but I have no doubt that in the course of time the cumulative effect of decisions being made by the Department of Social Welfare will impact on the decisions being made by the health boards and therefore improve the quality of those decisions.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 31 and 32 agreed.