asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will provide an allowance for widowers with young families who are unable to do full-time work because they have to attend to their children.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Widowers Allowances.
13.
There is provision under which a widower may be granted, as an addition to certain forms of benefit and assistance, an allowance in respect of a housekeeper residing with him for the purpose of having care of his dependent children. There is, however, no provision under which my Department could pay an allowance to a widower for a housekeeper if he himself were not entitled to payment from the Department.
It is open to a public assistance authority to grant home assistance in any cases of the kind mentioned in which the circumstances of the household so warrant.
However, I should say that I am having a detailed review of the assistance schemes, already announced in the Third Programme for Economic and Social Development, carried out in my Department. In that connection, it was indicated in the programme that consideration would be given to the position of certain classes of persons for whom special provision may be required, including husbands whose young children are left without care through death or incapacity of mothers.
Is the Minister aware of the terrible hardships created particularly in the small farming community when a man loses his wife and there is a large family? He is unable to look after his business and he has to stay at home most of the time. He cannot afford domestic help. For that reason would the Minister consider giving some allowance to this type of man?
I am aware that hardships are caused in cases of this kind to the same extent and perhaps more as they are caused in cases where the mother is incapacitated, where she is a permanent invalid and is unable to look after the family thus incurring further expenses. As I said, if the husband is in receipt of any of the benefits from the Department he is allowed for a housekeeper as a dependant. In other cases if he is working he gets no allowance. We have been required by the Third Programme to give special attention to such cases. They were listed in the Third Programme and referred to in the same context as the deserted wives.