Catherine Murphy
Question:1008. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in 2024 if the telephone support allowance were doubled. [37931/23]
View answerMonday, 11 September 2023
Questions (1008)
Written answers
The Telephone Support Allowance (TSA) is a weekly payment of €2.50 for people on certain social welfare payments who are also getting both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance. The primary objective of the TSA is to allow the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to personal alarms or phones for security. Approximately 150,000 customers are in receipt of the TSA payment, an increase of 10,000 in comparison with 2022 figures. The full year cost of the scheme in 2023 is estimated at €18.6 million.
It is assumed that there will be a further increase in individuals receiving TSA in 2023. Based on an assumed 155,000 recipients of the TSA in 2024, the estimated additional cost of increasing the weekly rate of TSA from €2.50 to €5 would be in the region of €20.2 million
|
Current Weekly Rate of TSA |
Proposed Weekly Rate of TSA |
Estimated Number of Beneficiaries |
Estimated additional yearly Cost of Measure |
|
€2.50 |
€5.00 |
155,000 |
€20.2m |
All proposals, including any proposals to increase the Telephone Support Allowance could only be considered while taking account of overall Government policy and in a budgetary context.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.