John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

Continuous monitoring has nothing to do with the Department. It is a matter between the individual customer and the commercial companies which supply the monitoring. The customer pays a monitoring fee of between €50 and €100 per annum, and that will continue.

I have a concern about real and genuine need. Throughout the years we dealt with about 6,000 applicants per annum. Last year we dealt with approximately 11,000. It is important that limited resources are targeted where there is real and genuine need. Applicants for the scheme are not means tested and it came to the attention of myself and others that some sort of means test might be required and that the necessary structure should be put in place.

Applications will not be accepted between now and the completion of the review. While the review is in place the applications which have been received to date will be processed but no new applications will be accepted.