Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 May 2003

Vol. 567 No. 1

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Payments.

Paul McGrath

Ceist:

97 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans to increase the living alone allowance as a means of helping people who have to live on small incomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13517/03]

Seymour Crawford

Ceist:

423 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if a person born and reared here receiving an old age contributory pension from the UK but returned and living here cannot receive a living alone allowance; her views on whether this is a right and justifiable situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13375/03]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mary Coughlan)

I propose to take Question Nos. 97 and 423 together.

The living alone allowance is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare type payments. It is also available to those under 66 years of age receiving payments under a number of invalidity type schemes. It is not a payment in its own right but an allowance which can only be paid as a supplement to an Irish social welfare payment. As such, it cannot be paid to people without a social welfare entitlement or those whose pension payments are made under the social security regimes of the UK or other countries.

The overall policy being followed in relation to support for our older people has been to commit resources to improving the personal pension rates rather than supplementary payments such as the living alone allowance. I believe this to be the more effective way of ensuring that the position of all our pensioners is improved. Since 1997, the Government has followed a policy of significantly increasing payments to pensioners and this will continue. The programme for Government commits to increasing the basic pension to €200 per week by 2007. There is also a commitment in the partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, to increasing the old age contributory pension from its current level of 31% of gross average industrial earnings to 34% over the next five to ten years. This is the target rate recommended by the Pensions Board in its report on the national pensions policy initiative.

The improvements announced in budget 2003 saw the old age contributory pension increase to €157.30 per week and the old age non-contributory pension increase to €144 per week. The equivalent rates in 1997 were €99.4 and €85.71 respectively. Other improvements made in the area of pensions include changes in the assessment of capital under the means tests for non-contributory payments. There have also been significant improvements in the area of the free schemes. Older people will remain one of the major priorities for the Government and the most effective way of improving their position will be kept under review in the context of future budgets.