Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 16 Feb 1993

Vol. 426 No. 1

Written Answers. - Free Electricity Allowance.

Bernard Allen

Ceist:

44 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will extend the free electricity allowance scheme to all old age pensioners, irrespective of whether there is somebody living with them or not, in view of the fact that there has been a high incidence of attacks on the elderly living alone in recent times and elderly people are reluctant to bring sons and daughters back into their homes for protection because they will lose their entitlements; and if he will extend the scheme to cover pensioners who held the allowance before but had it terminated because of the change in their living alone status.

Minister for Social Welfare (Dr. Woods)

The purpose of the free electricity allowance scheme is to assist pensioners who are living alone with one of their basic living expenses so that they can continue to live in their own homes rather than have them move into institutions. The current cost of the scheme is about £250 million a year.

As regards the living alone condition, it is not necessary that entitlement should be limited to persons actually living alone. The living-alone condition, as currently applied, allows certain persons to live with the pensioner without affecting his entitlement, for example, a dependent spouse or child or, in the case of an invalid, a carer. In the case of pensioners over 80 years of age, the free electricity allowance continues in place where the living alone condition ceases to be satisfied by virtue of somebody moving in with the pensioner.

Any proposals to broaden the current application of the living alone condition would have significant cost implications for the scheme and could only be considered in the light of available resources.