asked the Minister for Social Welfare how it is proposed to distribute authorisations to those entitled to the subsidised pound of butter per month.
Ceistéanna—Questions Oral Answers - Subsidised Butter Scheme.
14.
As I explained in reply to a question on 2nd May last, it is intended that the temporary EEC scheme for the provision of butter at a reduced price to social assistance recipients will be implemented by the issue of vouchers to qualified recipients by the Departments responsible for schemes of a social assistance nature, that is, the Departments of Social Welfare, Health and Defence.
Recipients of non-contributory old age, blind and widows and orphans pensions and deserted wives allowances will, when the arrangements are completed, receive their vouchers by post from my Department and recipients of unemployment assistance will receive theirs from the local employment exchange or employment office from which they receive their assistance. Public assistance authorities will issue vouchers to persons, not otherwise receiving vouchers, to whom they pay home assistance.
Arrangements are being made by the Departments of Health and Defence for the issue of vouchers to persons receiving assistance payments from health boards and the Department of Defence.
Will the onus be on retail shopkeepers to cash these vouchers? I did not quite follow what the Parliamentary Secretary has in mind. Will people have to go to staff assistance officers and will they get paid cash?
No. They will go direct to retailers who will honour the vouchers.
It will then be up to the retailers to exchange them for cash in the Department?
Yes.
What length of time might elapse between the receipt of the vouchers in the Department and the receipt of the money by the shopkeepers?
Discussions have taken place between the parties concerned and there do not seem to be any difficulties. There has not been any objection or even reluctance on the part of the people concerned to co-operate in this scheme.
Am I to understand that these people will go along to staff assistance officers to claim on these vouchers?
No. Various categories will receive their vouchers in various ways. The vast majority will be by post.
No person would have to go along to a staff assistance officer or to a health officer? Old age pensioners have their pride and might find it degrading to have to go looking for vouchers. Could all vouchers not be sent by post or could yearly books of coupons not be issued?
Where possible they will be issued by post but in certain cases they will be issued to recipients in the appropriate offices.
When will they come into operation?
They will come into operation in the current month, but due to the heavy work load in the Department not only in relation to the reduced price butter scheme but to other provisions of the budget, it is not anticipated that all of them will be issued before July. However, they will apply to June.
Some of them will be backdated?
It is possible some of them may not be issued until early July but they will be operative from June.
Has the Parliamentary Secretary made any estimate as to the duration of the scheme—how long will the surplus last?
It is not possible at this stage.
It is quite likely it could last for only a couple of months?
It could be a couple of years.
Have the Department decided, if and when the supplies run out, to have the scheme continued——
This scheme is in respect of EEC surplus butter only. Surely the Deputy will appreciate that to give any answer now which we are not sure of would be misleading.
The Parliamentary Secretary is aware that the scheme has been operated by one or two countries and that the duration was very short.
It could be two months and it could be two years.