Vol. 435 No. 1
95 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare if every old age pensioner in receipt of Irish contributory or non-contributory old age pension who is living alone is entitled to a free colour television licence; and if not, the reason for this.
The standard Television Licence Allowance applies to all people who are in receipt of a qualifying payment and who satisfy the living alone condition. The value of the allowance is £44 which is the cost of a black and white television licence and about 180,000 pensioners receive it each year.
Earlier this year resources became available which enabled me to increase the allowance from £44 to £62, the cost of a colour licence, for a significant number of people from April 1993. In order to target the limited additional resources the higher Television Licence Allowance is being extended to those who also qualify for the Free Fuel Allowance which is available on a means-tested basis. Some 95,000 pensioners will benefit.
People who qualify for a Television Licence Allowance but do not qualify for a Free Fuel Allowance continue to receive a Television Licence Allowance of £44.
