Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you for accepting my Commencement matter, a Chathaoirligh. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, is very welcome. I raise the issue of the costs faced by the over-70s and ask the Government to consider increasing the help provided to them. In 2018, a €2.50 weekly increase was introduced to assist those aged over 70 with their telephone line costs. This works out at €130 a year, but the cost of renting a landline is €504 a year. That is a significant amount for somebody over 70 who is on a very low income. Many such people are living alone and the telephone is their only means of communication with their family and friends. In these Covid times many people have been spending a lot of time at home. What highlighted the issue for me was when I received a letter from an 89-year-old man to say that because he is on the basic pension he does not have a television. While his TV licence would be free the cost of the different stations is prohibitive. He also found it was too expensive for him to have a telephone. His letter highlighted for me the difficulties of people who are on a low income. During these Covid times, when people have gone through so much, they have relied more on the television for company and on the telephone to make calls. It is time that we looked at the allowances that are paid to the over-70s to see if there is any way we can give them a helping hand. People are living longer but the situation is very difficult on people aged over 70.

While much has been done to increase the pension in recent years, for some time there were no increases or even partial cuts. It is very welcome that the pension was increased by €5 in the last budget, but there are other issues that we need to examine. People can only get the telephone allowance if they are in receipt of certain social welfare payments such as the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance. An older person who is living with a family member likes to pay his or her own bills and to have his or her independence. I would appreciate if the Government could examine the situation. I know it is early, in that the budget will take place in October, but I am sure many Departments are looking at their budgets, so for that reason it is an opportune time to highlight the issue.