Darren O'Rourke
Question:76. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost if the telephone support allowance increased to €5 per week. [26470/24]
View answerWednesday, 19 June 2024
Questions (76)
Written answers
The Telephone Support Allowance is a weekly payment of €2.50 for people on certain social welfare payments who are also getting both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance. The primary objective of the Telephone Support Allowance is to allow the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to personal alarms or phones for security.
The full year cost of the scheme in 2024 is estimated at €20.9 million. Approximately 156,000 customers are currently in receipt of the Telephone Support Allowance payment and this number continues to increase.
It is assumed that the trend in increased numbers will continue and on that basis, it is expected that there will be approximately 163,000 recipients of the Telephone Support Allowance in 2025. The estimated additional cost of increasing the weekly rate of Telephone Support Allowance from €2.50 to €5 would be in the region of €21.2 million.
All proposals, including any proposals to increase the Telephone Support Allowance could only be considered while taking account of overall Government policy and in a budgetary context.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.