Vol. 463 No. 7
10 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Social Welfare arising out of the announcement to grant alarm systems to old age pensioners, the guidelines, if any, he has laid down under which these applications are granted; the number of applications he has received and granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7234/96]
47 Mr. Kirk asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give a specific timetable for the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the Task Force on Security for the Elderly. [7202/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 47 together.
The Government approved last month my proposals in relation to the recommendations of the Task Force on Security for the Elderly and work is already under way in implementing the recommendations. The extension of the income tax relief to persons who install security systems in the homes of their elderly relatives living alone is provided for in the recently published Finance Bill.
A sum of £2 million has been made available to provide funding for voluntary and community organisations in respect of initiatives relating to the security of the elderly. The Department is in the process of establishing an advisory committee to advise on the administration of a grant scheme, including drafting guidelines. I hope to be in a position shortly to announce details of this scheme, which will be advertised in the news media. Application forms and further details will be available shortly from the Department's regional offices. I understand that six applications have already been received from local voluntary organisations for funding.
Discussions have been held with Telecom Éireann, which has agreed, to reduce the cost of telephone installations from £145 to £75 for a period of six months for elderly pensioners in receipt of a living alone allowance from the Department. These pensioners will not have to pay the normal telephone rental as this will be covered under the free telephone rental allowance scheme.
Statutory agencies and voluntary and community groups were specifically asked to consider developing projects for improving security for the elderly which could be undertaken as part of this year's student summer jobs scheme.
In relation to the recommendations concerning the provision of better information and advice to elderly persons on how to improve personal security both inside and outside their homes, this matter is being pursued by my Department in conjunction with the Garda and the Department of Justice. The other recommendations of the task force are being pursued by the relevant agency and Government Departments.
Does the Minister think that this scheme should be taken seriously? Would it not have been better to provide grant aid for security systems rather than a tax free allowance for which many pensioners do not qualify as they do not come within the tax system? Does the Minister believe this scheme, which was initially put forward as a stand alone scheme, warranted the spin put on it at the time and that six applications is an adequate response to it?
The Deputy may be confusing two issues. The proposal announced by the Minister for Finance on budget day gave a tax free allowance to elderly people living alone. He said he expected this scheme to cost approximately £1.5 million. The tax force report recommended that the scheme should be extended so that the relatives of elderly people living alone who do not have a tax liability could avail of the tax allowance and thereby assist their elderly relatives. The extension of the scheme and the expected increase in the number of elderly people living on their own who will avail of it will cost approximately £5 million in the 1996-97 tax year.
The task force also recommended that a grant scheme should be put in place and I have got Government agreement to allocate £2 million to this scheme. We are currently consulting voluntary organisations on the guidelines for the grant scheme, for which six applications have been received. These applications have been submitted even though application forms and guidelines have not yet been published. I am not in a position to indicate the number of inquiries made or applications received by the Department of Finance in regard to the tax allowance arrangement and I presume that information will become available only after the implementation date of 6 April. The task force was set up in late January. It met for the first time on 2 February. It had its report and recommendations concluded within four weeks, and I had a Government decision on those recommendations within a further week. I imagine this has probably been the fastest ever task force and I congratulate all of the people who participated in it.
The period between now and winter is a window of opportunity for us to take up on the tax allowance, to get a take-up of the grants on offer, and to encourage the 23,000 people who are living alone who are entitled to a free telephone allowance and who are not connected for one reason or another to avail of the special cheap rate that Telecom Éireann is offering for connection. It is a worthwhile report and I am sure it has already done much to reassure the elderly in urban and rural areas who feel at risk as a result of not having some form of security alarm.
What the Minister is saying is that the initial scheme giving an £800 tax free allowance turned out to be a bit of a joke. Allocating grants is a far better option, particularly for pensioners and people living alone. I would welcome it if such people were able to link up to the system operated by Telecom Phonewatch or a similar system. The Minister must agree that the initial tax free allowance was basically a joke.
I do not accept what the Deputy has said. The Minister for Finance introduced an important tax allowance for elderly people living alone. At the time there was much newspaper hysteria about attacks on the elderly. The Minister was seeking to reassure the elderly that the Government was concerned about their safety. When the task force looked at the issue — the Department of Finance had a representative on the task force — it came up with a recommendation that that allowance be extended to include relatives who might be able to avail of it. It makes sense to take that approach because it will enable the £2 million worth of grants to be spread much more widely among people who do not have a tax allowance and whose relatives are not in a position to provide for them.
That concludes questions and the business of the House for today.
