asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of people in this country who receive retirement pensions or widows' pensions from the USA and Great Britain; and if he has any proposals not to consider these as means in determining eligibility for Irish pensions.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Foreign Retirement Pensions.
27.
Statistics of the numbers of persons receiving retirement or widows' pensions from the USA or Great Britain are not available in my Department. I have no proposals at present to exclude such pensions in the calculation of means for Irish non-contributory pensions.
Would the Minister not agree that the numbers involved are constantly dwindling and that some people who were in receipt of these pensions had to leave this country for a variety of reasons which included Government neglect? Would the Minister not agree that eligibility for a USA pension should not be a barrier to receiving an Irish pension?
Surely the Deputy would not seek to have brought about a situation in which one person who is an applicant for a non-contributory old age pension would have some of his means excluded from the calculation while this would not be the situation in regard to another applicant. All means must be taken into account in respect of an application for a non-contributory old age pension. It would be invidious to set aside one group of people and say that in regard to them certain of their means need not be taken into account while the entire means of another group would have to be taken into account.
Is it possible for these USA pensioners to qualify for free light?
Yes. Some of them, too, are given special consideration in regard to income tax.
I am not sure that the Minister is right about that.
It was a concession introduced by me as Minister for Finance at the request some years ago of the present Ceann Comhairle.
Question No. 29 was notified for postponement but as it is being taken with Question No. 28 it must go on.