David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on assisting those who are eligible for the telephone allowance with the cost of the line connection fee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13531/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The telephone allowance is one component of the household benefits package which also comprises the electricity or gas allowance and the free television licence schemes.

The telephone allowance provides a payment towards telephone service costs. It is applied as a cash credit on recipient's telephone bills. The value of the allowance is set at €20.41 per month (€24.70 including VAT) or €40.82 for those who are billed on a 2-monthly basis (€49.40 including VAT).

In Budget 2007 I provided for the telephone allowance to be extended to cover mobile phones. Under this new arrangement, which takes effect from this month, customers will have the choice to opt either for a direct credit to a telephone company for their landline as at present or for a cash payment in respect of their mobile phone.

The proposal to extend the telephone allowance to include the line connection fee is one of a number of proposals which have been made in relation to the household benefits package. I will continue to examine such proposals in a budgetary context and in light of the objectives of the scheme.