Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I do not propose to accept this amendment. The living alone increase is an additional payment of €7.50 per week made to people age 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people who are under 66 years of age who are living alone and who receive payments under one of a number of invalidity-type schemes. The increase is intended as a contribution towards the additional costs people face when they live alone.

The living alone allowance has not been increased since 1996 because for many years the policy regarding supports for pensioners has been to give priority to increasing personal rates of pensions rather than focusing on supplements such as the allowance in question. The objective is to use resources to improve the position of all pensioners to the fullest extent possible. This approach was continued in 2008, with increases of up to €14 and €12 per week granted in respect of personal rates. Since 2002, the level of the contributory State pension has increased by more than 50%. This improvement has had a marked impact on the living standards of older people, enabling them to face the future with a greater sense of security and dignity.

The Department monitors regular statistical releases such as the EU survey of income and living conditions, EU-SILC, to track the effectiveness of income policies. The 2006 EU-SILC report, which was published recently, shows that the position of older people improved significantly from 2005 to 2006, with the at-risk-of-poverty rate falling from 20.1% to 13.6%. Furthermore, the number of people aged 65 and over at risk of poverty was significantly lower than the figure for the general population, which stood at 17%. The estimated cost of increasing the living alone allowance by €1 per week is €8.4 million per annum.

The needs of older people will remain a priority for the Government. Further reforms and improvements will be considered in the context of the Green Paper on Pensions, which was published on 17 October. A major consultation process on future pensions policy is under way. Following its completion, the Government will develop a framework in respect of future pensions policy.

The allowance is intended as a contribution towards the additional costs pensioners face when they live alone. However, the downside is that this is lost when they need to live with someone else. As pointed out on Second Stage, people often avail of support from their families in the context of being cared for and move in with relatives. These people lose the living alone allowance as a result. The Government and the Department saw fit to continue to significantly increase personal rates of pension on an annual basis rather than concentrating on increasing the living alone allowance, which has its limits.