Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 91: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of people in receipt of the living alone allowance; the amount paid out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26193/07]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will amend the qualifying criteria for the living alone allowance; if there are plans to increase the allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26194/07]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 132: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when he proposes to raise the rate of the living alone allowance; his policy in relation to the future development of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26271/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 91, 102 and 132 together.

The living alone increase is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 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. Currently, about 157,500 people are in receipt of the living alone increase, at a cost of approximately €64 million per annum.

The policy in relation to support for pensioners has been, for many years, to give priority to increasing the personal rates of pension rather than supplements like the living alone increase. The objective is to use resources to improve the position of all pensioners to the fullest extent possible rather than focusing on particular groups. This approach was continued in Budget 2007 with increases of up to €16 and €18 per week granted on personal rates.

The needs of older people have been, and will remain, a priority for the Government. Further reforms and improvements will be considered in the context of the Green Paper on pensions policy, published on the 17th October. A major consultation process in relation to future pensions policy is now underway. Following the completion of the consultation process, the Government will develop a framework for future policy.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will provide further details regarding the commitment in the Programme for Government to implement significant improvements to the back to school clothing and footwear allowance and the school meals programme. [25886/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits the Government to implementing significant improvements in both the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and to the School Meals scheme.

I consider the back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme to be an important support for parents at a time of particular financial strain. It provides a major boost to those who most need assistance in meeting the financial costs associated with return to school.

The improvements as committed in the Programme for Government will be implemented over the course of the next five years and will build on the progress made in that scheme recent years . The improvements already implemented are very significant when viewed in the context of clothing and footwear price trends. According to the Consumer Price Index for September 2007, the overall cost of clothing and footwear has fallen by 4% over the past twelve months. Since December 2001, clothing and footwear costs have decreased by 17.9%.

The school meals assists schools and projects to provide healthy, nutritious food to the most disadvantaged children in our society who, by reason of lack of food, are unable to take full advantage of the educational opportunities presented to them. The scheme is currently providing meals to over 165,000 children.

The implementation of improvements in the School Meals scheme is well underway. The Department of Education and Science has identified a total of 875 disadvantaged schools under the 'Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools' (DEIS) action plan. These DEIS schools have been targeted for inclusion in the scheme and, to date, a total of 668 DEIS schools are participating on the scheme. The scheme will be extended in 2008 to as many of the remaining DEIS schools as wish to participate. As a result, I expect that expenditure on the scheme in 2008 will show a considerable increase on 2007 levels.