Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 7 Mar 2002

Vol. 550 No. 2

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Derek McDowell

Ceist:

414 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if the decision taken by his Department to allow a nursing home resident to be eligible for the telephone allowance and free television scheme has been reversed; the reasons this decision was reversed; the person who took the decision; and the amount this measure was costing the State. [7625/02]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

The various free schemes operated by the Department are designed to support pensioners, certain disabled people and carers living on their own. Persons resident in nursing homes are not considered to be living on their own for the purposes of these schemes.

When the "living alone" requirement applying to these schemes was removed in May 2001 for those aged over 70, a small number of applications for telephone allowance from residents of nursing homes who had their own private telephone lines were approved in error.

The question of extending the telephone allowance to pensioners in nursing homes would involve a change in the basis of the scheme and would have cost implications. Any such development would have to be considered in a budgetary context.