asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he is now in a position to, and, if so, if he will furnish, the details which he stated were not available on the 10th instant of the three cases in which old age and other pensions payable by his Department were reduced in amount or stopped because the pensioner won a prize in a football pool, raffle or other like event.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Reduction or Stoppage of Prizewinners' Pensions.
5.
Mr. Ryan
As stated in the reply to the Deputy's previous question on this subject, the law requires that where a person who is in receipt of any pension which is subject to a means test receives an increase in means, that person's means must be re-assessed to take the increase into account and if it appears that the person is not entitled to the rate of pension in payment, the pension must be reduced or revoked as the case may require.
In one of the cases to which the Deputy's question refers, the pensioner, who had been in receipt of the maximum old age pension, held a halfshare in a winning sweepstake ticket which realised £13,500. The annual value of this sum for old age pension purposes, amounted to £1,328 15s. 0. As this, of course, exceeded the statutory limit of £104 15s. 0, for receipt of a pension the pension was accordingly revoked.
In the second case, the pensioner, who had been in receipt of the maximum pension, also held a winning sweepstake ticket and received £2,480. The annual value of this sum exceeds the statutory limit for receipt of a pension and the question of revoking the pension has been taken up.
In the remaining case, the pensioner was in receipt of an old age pension of 15/- per week. She won £187 7s. 8d. in a crossword competition and her means were re-assessed to take into account the increase in capital. This resulted in a reduction of 5/- per week in her pension.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary say how the value is calculated?
I could not give a tabular answer in the matter but I shall supply it to the Deputy. The first £25 is not taken into account. I could not correctly tell the Deputy what the percentage is but I shall supply a statement.