Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 1272: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the plans she has to review the State pension and living alone allowance with a view to addressing the issue of poverty among older people living alone by taking account of cost of living price increases and spiralling fuel costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29673/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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This Government has shown an unparalleled commitment to improving the State pension. The rate of contributory pension has increased from €147.30 per week in 2002 to more than €223 per week in 2008 and the non-contributory pension has increased from €134 per week in 2002 to €212 per week this year. Together with improvements in other schemes, these increases have helped to reduce the number of older people experiencing consistent poverty to 2%.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs is responsive to fuel poverty issues by supplementing households through basic social welfare payments and a number of social welfare programmes to assist with heating costs, specifically the national fuel allowance scheme and electricity and gas allowances under the household benefits package. These schemes have been improved significantly in recent years.

For example, the fuel allowance of €18 per week (€21.90 in designated smokeless areas) is now payable for 30 weeks and benefits over 290,000 people at an aggregate cost of €170 million this year. Electricity and gas allowances under the household benefits package, are payable throughout the year to over 350,000 pensioners, people with disabilities, and carer households towards their heating, light and cooking costs. There is also a special heating needs facility available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to assist people in certain circumstances with specific heating needs due to infirmity or a particular medical condition. Any changes to State pension rates or the living alone allowance have to be considered in a budgetary context.