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Open Access To Countryside
Time in Lieu for Voluntary Activity
Free Telephone Rental to Nursing Home Residents

Order No. 

124

Ref No.     

8200|03

Date:

26|03|03

Community, Rural, Gaeltacht Affairs:

Written Question           

Question:
To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on recent meetings between his office and the Irish Farmers Association on the question of open access to the countryside.

Reply:
In my reply to Question No. 120 from the Deputy on February 12th I referred to the creation of a Group to advise my Department on Rural Tourism issues including the issue of access to walkways.

The inaugural meeting of this Group was held on February 28th.  Membership of the Group includes the farming organisations, including the Irish Farmers Association, rural organisations, the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, the Irish Sports Council and tourism promotion groups.

I addressed the inaugural meeting of the Group and in relation to the issue of access to walkways I made clear that in my view that a local community based approach was the way forward.  Following the inaugural meeting, officials from my Department are to meet with interested parties and draw up a discussion document on the issue.

I met with the Irish Farmers Association on March 6th.  The issue of open access to the countryside was mentioned in passing but not discussed at this meeting.   I have in the past made clear my position that the concept of open access to the countryside was fundamental, subject to the constitutional provisions on private property.  I have also made clear my view that any proposal for Exchequer payment for access would not be acceptable.

Order No. 

112

Ref No.     

8201|03

Date:

26|03|03

Community, Rural, Gaeltacht Affairs:

Written Question           

Question:
To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the discussions which have taken place between his Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the possible introduction of a time in lieu entitlement to employees who engage in voluntary activity.

Reply:
(Noel Ahern) The White Paper on Supporting Voluntary Activity, published in 2000, acknowledged the important role and unique strengths of the community and voluntary sector in giving opportunities to people to become active participants in democratic society. 

The establishment of the National Committee on Volunteering in November 2000 was an additional and complementary initiative of the Government. The Committee published its report  "Tipping The Balance" in October 2002. The report is extremely detailed and comprehensive, covering many aspects of volunteering, and contains wide-ranging recommendations which impact on many State and other bodies.

The Committee did not specifically recommend the introduction of tax credits, or the introduction of a leave in lieu entitlement to encourage volunteering. Accordingly, my Department has had no discussions with the relevant Departments about any such arrangements.

Order No. 

0

Ref No.     

33

Date:

27|03|03

Social and Family Affairs:

Oral Question               

Question:
To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the costs involved in extending free telephone rental to residents of nursing homes; and her plans to extend further benefits to these residents

Reply:
The telephone allowance which is part of the household benefits package, is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. It is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain social welfare type payments. Since May, 2001 the allowance is available to all persons aged 70 or over regardless of income or household composition.

Some 280,000 people receive the telephone allowance, at an estimated aggregate cost of over EUR 78 million in 2003. The allowance covers the cost of line and instrument rental in full and a contribution towards call charges. It is worth up to EUR 281.10 per annum, including VAT, to each qualified person. Once  awarded, the allowance is credited to the qualified person's 

two-monthly Eircom telephone bill. The primary objective of the telephone allowance when it was introduced originally in 1977 was to ensure that older people could summon help in an emergency.  Since then the focus of the scheme has changed to seeking to encourage social contact and prevent social exclusion.

It is with these objectives in mind that I have now provided for an extension of the allowance to include certain residents in nursing homes. Under the arrangements introduced earlier this

month, the allowance may be paid in respect of residents who   -    are aged 70 years and over ,  -  have their own telephone line in the nursing home, and   -  receive a telephone bill in their own name at  the nursing   home. The new arrangements apply to all applications received after 1 January, 2003 and, where entitlement exists, the allowance will be paid from the date of receipt of the application.

This latest improvement puts nursing home residents aged 70 years and over on an equal footing with people aged 70 years and over living in their own homes and availing of the telephone allowance regardless of income or household composition. I am also conscious of the social benefit that these changes will bring by enabling those residents who are entitled to the

allowance to remain in contact with family and friends.

It is estimated that up to 5,500 people could benefit from this measure at an estimated additional cost of EUR 1.55 million in 2003.

While residents of nursing homes may have access to their own private telephone line,  it is unlikely that individual residents in a nursing home would have access to their personal 

electricity or natural gas supply.  Also, in the case of the television licence, one licence covers any number of television sets in individual rooms within a nursing home.

The circumstances that arise in the case of private telephone lines in nursing homes do not apply in the context of establishing entitlement to the various other allowance within the household benefits package. Consequently, the extension of these other allowance to residents in nursing homes does not arise at this time.

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