Vol. 495 No. 7
544 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to proportion the child benefit payment for twins with those of other multiple births; if he is recommending this reform for the forthcoming budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21249/98]
Child benefit is payable at double the normal rate for each child where three or more children are born together. The Deputy will be aware that in September of this year, I introduced a new payment of 150 per cent of the normal child benefit rate for twins, in recognition of the additional difficulties which may be faced by the parents of twins. The full year cost of this measure amounts to some £4.8 million.
The question of further enhancing these arrangements is a matter for consideration in a budgetary context, in the light of the resources available and of other competing priorities.
546 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the proposals, if any, he has to expand the free travel scheme in relation to spouses of hospitalised and other ill persons who are holders of a free travel pass to facilitate travel of an essential nature as in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford. [21262/98]
The free travel scheme is available to all persons in the State aged 66 years or over and to certain people with disabilities under the age who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments. In addition, widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 whose late spouses had entitlement to free travel retain that entitlement. The scheme provides free travel, primarily at off-peak periods, to eligible people on the main public and private transport services. At the end of last September, free travel passes had been issued to over 519,000 people at an estimated annual cost of more than £34 million.
547 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will ensure that, in the course of the forthcoming pensions Bill, he will include a provision that non-established civilian workers in various institutes of the State will be paid an appropriate pension for their years of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21271/98]
It is understood that the Deputy may have a particular case in mind, namely, that of a civilian employee of the Department of Defence. The terms and conditions of such employment and occupational pension arrangements are matters for my colleague, the Minister for Defence. Issues relating to public sector pensions are currently being examined by the Commission on Public Service Pensions.
In relation to social welfare pensions, any person in industrial, commercial and service-type employment who is employed under a contract of service with reckonable earnings of £30 or more per week from all employments will pay pay related social insurance at the full rate — i.e. Class A. Under this class of social insurance contribution, entitlement is conferred to the full range of benefits available under the social welfare code, including, of course, the old age (contributory) or retirement pensions.
548 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason a single parent can receive child dependant allowances in respect of their fostered children when he or she is in receipt of unemployment assistance and the same rule does not apply to recipients of the one parent family payment; the plans, if any, he has to address this discrepancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21276/98]
549 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will change the regulations governing the one parent family payment to allow long-term foster parents to qualify for the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21277/98]
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 548 and 549 together.
A person who is engaged in long-term fostering of a child can qualify for one-parent family payment. Similarly, child dependant allowances will also be paid to a lone parent who is claiming for a foster child in addition to his-her own children.
550 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he has received the report of the review group on the operation of the carer's allowance scheme; his views on its recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21397/98]
The carer's allowance is a social assistance scheme which provides an income maintenance payment to people who are providing elderly or incapacitated pensioners or certain persons with disabilities with full-time care and attention, and whose incomes fall below certain limits.
There were 11,138 persons in receipt of carer's allowance at the end of September 1998, of whom 9,052 — 81 per cent — were in receipt of a payment at the maximum rate.
In its An Action Programme for the Millennium the Government is committed to progressively relaxing the qualifying criteria for the carer's allowance to ensure that more carers can get the benefit; and increasing the value of the allowance in real terms. In line with these commitments, an overall review of the carer's allowance was completed and launched by me last month. As I have said on a number of occasions, the Government is committed to improving the situation of carers in our society.
The report, which has been made available to Members of both Houses is comprehensive and all the proposals contained in the review are being considered in a budgetary context in the light of available resources.
551 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to extend the free telephone rental scheme to mobile phones in view of the fact that many elderly people feel more secure with a mobile phone. [21398/98]
The free telephone rental allowance is available to people aged 66 or over who are in receipt of a welfare type payment. It is also available to people with disabilities under that age who are in receipt of certain welfare type pensions. In addition, widows-widowers aged from 60 to 65, whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free schemes, retain that entitlement. To qualify, people must also be either living alone or otherwise satisfy this condition. The purpose of the allowance is to provide an element of protection and security in their homes for older and disabled people to enable them to summon help in an emergency. The allowance, which is only for landlines, covers the rental charges and a small number of free calls.
A fundamental review of all the free schemes is planned for 1999. The issue raised by the Deputy will be considered in that context.
552 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that carers in receipt of carer's allowance from his Department can do community work for ten hours per week without affecting their allowance but are prohibited from taking paid work for the same period without penalty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21533/98]
The carer's allowance is a social assistance scheme which provides an income maintenance payment to people who are providing elderly or incapacitated pensioners or certain persons with disabilities with full-time care and attention, and whose incomes fall below certain limits.
In its An Action Programme for the Millennium the Government is committed to progressively relaxing the qualifying criteria for the carer's allowance to ensure that more carers can get the benefit; and increasing the value of the allowance in real terms. In line with these commitments, an overall review of the carer's allowance has been completed and was published last month.
One of the proposals put forward in the review concerns the relaxation of the full-time care and attention requirements to allow carers to undertake ten hours part-time work per week having due regard to the care recipients' needs. This would be a further extension of the relaxation of these rules earlier in 1998 which allowed carers to attend educational or training courses or participate in voluntary or community based activities, for around ten hours per week, provided the carer makes adequate provision for the care recipient in his-her absence.
This proposal, and the other proposals contained in the review, are being considered in a budgetary context in the light of available resources.
554 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will review the decision to refuse a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3 permission to retain disability benefit and to work part-time with the National Institute for the Deaf, in view of the fact that the job was certified by the National Rehabilitation Board as being rehabilitative. [21553/98]
A person is not permitted as a general rule, to engage in work while receiving disability benefit. Legislation provides, however that a person may, be granted an exemption from this rule where he-she is engaged in part-time work in the nature of rehabilitation or occupational therapy.
The person concerned has been in receipt of disability benefit since 13 February 1997 in respect of an incapacity certified as depression and asthma. An application for permission to engage in part-time work for rehabilitative purposes was received on her behalf from the National Rehabilitation Board and was refused, following consultation with the medical adviser who has advised that, as the proposed part-time work does not differ significantly from the person's previous employment which she states had adversely affected her medical condition and which resulted in her incapacity for work, it would be neither rehabilitative nor therapeutic for her to commence such employment.
555 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to extend the fuel allowance scheme beyond the April cut-off point, at times when weather conditions deteriorate during summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21614/98]
The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders who are on long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. A payment of £5 per week — £8 per week in smokeless zones — is paid to eligible households for 26 weeks from mid-October to mid-April.
Expenditure on the national fuel scheme has increased by approximately 20 per cent in the last five years from £37.5 million in 1993 to £45 million in 1997. This year a sum of £45.2 million has been provided in the Estimates for the scheme.
It is estimated that the cost of extending the fuel season by one week would cost almost £2 million. Any extension to the duration of the scheme would have significant cost implications and could be considered only in a budgetary context, taking increases in primary weekly payment rates into account.
