asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will make arrangements whereby recipients of social welfare payments and of home assistance will each receive a Christmas bonus of £100 as they cannot purchase the necessities of life on their present income.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Christmas Payments.
33.
In view of the very substantial increases granted from July of this year in all rates of social insurance and social assistance payments, I do not propose to introduce legislation for the purpose of making a special Christmas payment. As is pointed out in the recent White Paper A National Partnership the Government have decided that social welfare payments will be increased in the budget to be introduced in January, 1975, and will be further revised during the year.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the people I have mentioned in my question have no other income and at this moment cannot buy fuel to keep them warm and that some of them have not enough to eat and that this is acknowledged by all societies concerned with the care of sick and infirm?
I am very much aware of the hardship facing many people in this category but the question as tabled by the Deputy is very wide. "Recipients of social welfare payments" covers practically everybody in the country. According to the Deputy everybody in receipt of a children's allowance should get £100 for Christmas. I do not think the Deputy gave much thought to the matter before submitting the question.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary satisfied that a person can live on the £7.30 per week non-contributory old age pension?
No.
What does he intend to do about it immediately?
People forced to live in those circumstances are presented with major difficulties but I do not think they are as great as they were when there was no word from the Deputy and when the allowances were much lower under the system he supported.
But the £ could buy more.
(Interruptions.)
I have very little time for new-found bleeding hearts.
The £ is purchasing less.
The Parliamentary Secretary's bleeding heart is a fairly professional one.
He is no Santa Claus.
The Parliamentary Secretary admits that £7.30 is not enough but is doing nothing about it. Shame on you.
(Interruptions.)
The Deputy's interest in the subject is very clearly revealed by the fact that he seems surprised at what I have said here. I have repeated it on many occasions.
The Parliamentary Secretary has done nothing about it.
I am calling Question No. 34.
34.
(Dublin Central) asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he intends to grant old age pensioners an additional week's payment for Christmas.
In view of the very substantial increases granted from July of this year in all rates of social insurance and social assistance payments, I do not propose to introduce legislation for the purpose of making a special Christmas payment.
(Dublin Central): Will the Parliamentary Secretary agree that the increases given in the last budget have been completely eroded by the increase in the cost of living in the past nine months? I am asking him to consider the old age pensioners and to grant them an additional week's payment for Christmas. Will he tell me how much this would cost?
That is a separate matter.
The Deputy's supplementary arises in the answer to the next question.
I have already declared it to be a separate question.