Vol. 470 No. 5
107 Mr. Gallagher (Laoighis-Offaly) asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will extend the free television licence scheme to other categories of long-term social welfare claimants, such as the long-term unemployed. [19503/96]
The free television licence scheme is one of the free schemes administered by my Department which also include the free electricity allowance, the free natural gas allowance and the free telephone rental allowance. The purpose of these schemes is to encourage elderly or disabled people, living alone on limited means, to continue to live in their own homes instead of going into residential care. In order to qualify, an applicant must be in receipt of a social welfare type payment and satisfy the living alone conditions of the schemes. Last July, the free schemes were extended to include non-qualifying payment pensioners subject to a means test.
The present free television licence scheme was extended in October last year to provide a free colour television licence for all recipients. An extension of the scheme on the lines suggested by the Deputy would involve additional expenditure which could only be considered in a budgetary context. The cost of the free television licence scheme in 1996 is estimated at £11.9 million with about 192,000 people availing of it.
