Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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147. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the total amounts awarded under the telephone allowance portion of the household benefits package for each year of its operation until its abolition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34441/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Telephone Allowance was discontinued with effect from 01 Jan 2014. The costs of the Telephone Allowance scheme had risen each year previously until the allowance amount had changed and the number of eligible customers had increased significantly. In 2007 there were some 316,000 people receiving the Telephone Allowance, at the end of 2013 there are almost 400,000, an increase of 24%. Each year almost 10,000 extra customers became eligible for the allowance because of the increased number of pension recipients.

In recent years the nature of the telephone market has been transformed with deregulation, mobile services and bundled services including television, broadband and telephone. The original notion of an allowance covering handset rental, standing charges and a number of calls is now somewhat outdated. There is a wide variety of deals available. For example, it is possible to get a standard pay-as-you-go brand name mobile telephone for as little as €19.99 in large retailers.

Therefore, on examining the Household Benefits Scheme, I felt that retaining the other elements of the package such as the Electricity/Gas Allowance and the Television Licence as far as possible would be more valuable to recipients. My Department is also protecting the Free Travel pass for older people and people with disabilities.

My Department will spend an estimated €229,880,000 in 2014 on the remaining elements of the Household Benefits Package for over 400,000 customers.

Telephone Expenditure for 2004-2013