The primary objective of the telephone allowance scheme administered by my Department is to ensure access to help in an emergency and to provide an element of security. A secondary objective is to encourage social contact and to assist in the prevention of social isolation for those living alone.
The structure of the allowance was changed in 2003 to make it a cash credit on bills and not attributable to any particular component of the bill. Previously the allowance had covered the line and instrument rental charges specifically, with a small element of call costs on each two-monthly client bill. Currently, the allowance stands at €20.41 per month, at an estimated cost of €92.2 million in 2004. The change in the structure of the telephone allowance was designed to make it easier for eligible clients to choose from a range of participating service providers, as the newly standardised allowance can be applied to phone bills from any service provider irrespective of the tariff components.
Depending on which service provider is chosen, the €20.41 per month paid by the Department can cover line rental and instrument rental as well as providing a set value of free calls. If the customer has a high-speed ISDN line, the allowance may be used to offset part of that cost.
Any change in the scheme such as that proposed by the Deputy would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
