Vol. 406 No. 3
186 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a free telephone rental allowance has not yet been credited to the account of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Telecom Éireann have threatened this person with disconnection unless the rental is paid within ten days.
It was decided on 6 March 1991 to award the person concerned a free telephone rental allowance with effect from 26 February 1991 — the date on which his application for this allowance was received in my Department.
Telecom Éireann are being notified of his entitlement to the allowance and this will be credited to his account shortly. While there was no delay in processing this case, my Department have made a special arrangement with Telecom Éireann to ensure that the person's telephone will not be disconnected.
187 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will approve an application for a death grant lodged by a person (details supplied) in County Cork.
The person concerned submitted a claim for death grant on 20 January 1991, but was apparently unable to provide the social insurance number with the result that further inquiries had to be made.
These inquiries have been completed and the death grant claim was allowed at the maximum rate of £100. Payment has now been made.
188 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a child dependent allowance has been withdrawn from a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the child dependant is still in education.
Due to an oversight the child dependent allowance was not included when a renewable book was issued to the person concerned paying from February onwards.
Immediate arrangements are now being made to rectify the matter. The payable order book currently held by the person concerned has been recalled. It will be replaced with another payment book containing the correct rate of child dependent allowance. Arrears due to the person concerned will issue immediately after she returns the original book for amendment.
My Department regret the inconvenience to the person concerned. Various measures, including the computerisation of payment procedures in similar cases, are being adopted to ensure that risks of error and oversights are minimised.
189 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will allow a claim for unemployment benefit for a person (details supplied) in County Cork in view of her efforts to obtain employment.
The person concerned lodged a claim to unemployment benefit in Cork employment exchange in June 1990. The claim was disallowed by a deciding officer on the basis that she was not available for nor genuinely seeking work. She had indicated that she was only available for part time work. This decision was upheld on appeal. A subsequent claim to unemployment benefit made by her was also disallowed by a deciding officer on the same grounds and the disallowance was upheld on appeal.
She lodged a further claim to unemployment benefit at Dungarvan branch employment office on 20 February 1991. Arrangements were made to transfer her earlier claim papers from Cork employment exchange to Dungarvan branch employment office and she was asked to respond to certain questions in connection with her claim. She has not given any response to these questions. In the interim, she has again changed address and her claim had to be sent back to Cork employment exchange.
190 Mr. Doyle asked the Minister for Social Welfare if, in view of the very cold weather being experienced this year, he will have the free fuel allowance extended until the end of April.
The national fuel scheme is intended to help households who are dependent on long term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs.
The scheme runs from mid-October to mid-April each year. Meteorological Office statistics over a 30 year period show that the mean monthly air temperatures for April are closer to mean air temperatures for May and the summer months than to those for March and winter months. It is for this reason that the fuel scheme does not extend beyond the mid-point of the month.
If the duration of the heating season for the national fuel scheme were to be extended it would cost in the region of £1 million for each additional week for which the scheme operated.
191 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 whose deserted wives' allowance book was stolen seven weeks ago has not been supplied with a new book; and his views on whether this delay is excessive.
The person concerned advised my Department on 29 January 1991 that her deserted wife's benefit book had been stolen and that the last order she had cashed therein was for 24 January 1991.
192 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will extend the qualification for a carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who is caring for a person in receipt of retirement pension from the Department of Health and Social Security in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The new carer's allowance, which I introduced last November, was a major innovation and has been widely welcomed. It provides a direct payment to people on low incomes who provide full-time care and attention for invalided social welfare pensioners.
In general, the allowance is payable to people who are providing full-time care and attention to social welfare pensioners aged 66 years or over or to recipients of invalidity pension or blind pension regardless of their age.
I am happy to say that I will be extending the scheme later this year to cover carers of recipients of disabled person's maintenance allowance and persons getting a pension from another member state of the EC or from a country with whom Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement. As a result of that extension, persons providing full-time care and attention to incapacitated recipients of UK retirement pensions who are over 66 years will be brought within the scope of the scheme.
In addition to the extension, the maximum weekly personal rate is being increased from £45 to £50 from July next.
