Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy and I had a brief discussion on this matter on committee yesterday and no doubt we will return to it later. The Deputy will be aware that these people were not included prior to the 1999 legislation. After 1999, people who went into an institution could bring their disability allowance with them, therefore, they were entitled to the full disability allowance by virtue of going into an institution. What I did in the budget, and what I am seeking to do in the legislation, is to ensure that the 2,400 or so people who were in institutions prior to 1999 will receive the first instalment of what should ultimately become the full disability allowance. It is my ambition to bring the current rate of €35 a week up to what over time will be equal to the full disability allowance, because these people have been left behind from an income point of view.

The Department of Health and Children is dealing with the other issue to which the Deputy referred. It relates to the proportion of one's allowance or pension that can be retained by the institution. The Department of Health and Children is drawing up legislation to deal with this issue. It will apply across the board, irrespective of the pace at which we get the €35 a week up to the full disability allowance level. I want people in adjoining beds in the same institution, with the same means, to get the same income, which is theirs alone. The proportion of that income which can be taken by the institution will be laid down in legislation. The payment of up to €35, which is a means-tested payment, is a step in the direction of catching up for these people who were pre-1999 and, therefore, did not have a disability allowance in the institution.

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