2026-05-07

This matter relates to the telephone support allowance. It is one of those things that is an essential part of the income for a lot of people. The organisation ALONE has highlighted not just the value of this allowance but also the fact that it has not been keeping pace anywhere close to inflation. It was not increased in the most recent budget. I understand that the primary objective is to allow the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to personal alarms or phones for security and, absolutely, that is essential. However, there is more and more of an emphasis now on availability and access to data and mobile phones. It strikes me that the allowance is deficient in two ways. One is that it is not enough; it was not increased. We have just spent a couple of hours in here and nobody would dispute the fact that the cost of everything is going up, but also the fact that it is not modern or fit for purpose. I am, therefore, echoing the calls that have been made by ALONE about the clear necessity to expand the payment. It said this in its pre-budget submissions. It looked for an increase of €7.50, which is a fairly modest and balanced ask, to be fair. This is mostly for vulnerable groups, specifically, but the largest cohort who use it are older people. The Minister of State will know that when people cannot pay their bills, they cannot do a side hustle, as the Americans call it. They are on a fixed income and that is it. Their pension from the State, small as it is, has to stretch to meet all their outgoings. More and more, we see that communication of all forms is shifting online. I was struggling when I was coming in to think of people I know who still have a landline. They are moving rapidly towards obsolescence. I do not lay the blame for that at the Minister of State's door. People are voting with their feet. They are not getting landlines anymore. It is quite unusual outside of an office environment to even get a landline number. In a reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister for Social Protection stated that he "will continue, as part of the budget planning process, to consider if improvements can be made to ensure that this benefit continues to target vulnerable cohorts. Any future decisions will, of course, have to take account of the availability of financial resources." Shortly after he gave that answer, it turned out that there were slightly more resources available than perhaps had been obvious. The cost of the increase to €7.50 is €67 million. It is a modest amount. It is a small and simple ask. Broadband is expensive. Mobile data plans are expensive and connectivity has never been more important. There was the report on loneliness, particularly in rural Ireland. Often it is a lack of connectivity that people will tell you they are experiencing. I seek an update on whether improvements can be made. I think they can. I outlined improvements that could be made. I also ask the Minister of State to give an indication of what the Government's thinking is on this allowance because it is rapidly becoming obsolete. As he will be aware, it is only €2.50 per week.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. He is correct that it is an important matter because more and more people are depending on connectivity by mobile phone. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Calleary, who sends his apologies. The telephone support allowance is €2.50 a week for people who are getting both the living alone increase and the fuel allowance, and one of a number of payments that I will not go through because the Deputy knows all the payments associated with it. The primary objective of the telephone support allowance is to allow the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to personal alarms or phones for security. As the Deputy will be aware, we are moving with the personal alarms as well. I am due to meet ALONE in a couple of weeks in that regard. The allowance is a cash payment automatically paid with a person's main weekly social welfare payment and it can, of course, be used towards broadband or mobile data charges. Cumulatively, the allowance is paid to over 164,000 customers weekly, at a cost of €21.6 million. The Deputy stated that it would cost €67 million-----

To increase it to €7.50.

-----to increase it to €7.50. I will certainly feed that back to the Minister as part of the Government's deliberations on next year's budget. The Government is committed to supporting older persons and persons with disability. Given the many competing demands for the limited funding available in the Department of Social Protection, there was no increase in the telephone support allowance in budget 2026. Other supports provided by the Department, however, were increased in that budget, including the €10 increase in the weekly rate in social welfare payments and the €5 increase in the fuel allowance. It is important also to recognise that in that fuel allowance piece, we are providing an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. This will provide support of €1,064 to a household during a 28-week fuel season. In response to the increase in energy prices due to the war in the Middle East, the fuel allowance season was extended by a further four weeks to the end of April, which provided an additional €152 to recipients. To receive the telephone support allowance, a customer must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and also in receipt of both the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance. This means that those in receipt of the allowance already receive considerable support from the Department. However, there is, to be fair to the Deputy, merit in the consideration of this because I believe that more and more people are looking to us in terms of mobile phone connectivity. The household benefits package is available to those in receipt of the telephone support allowance. This comprises of an electricity or gas allowance and a free television licence, which is worth approximately €580 a year. Furthermore, the Department of Social Protection provides for a means-tested additional needs payment as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which helps people meet essential expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income. These payments are available through community welfare officers. Increasing the rate of household-based schemes, such as the living alone increase and the fuel allowance, provides targeted support to households that are at a higher risk of poverty. Any proposal to increase the rate payable for the telephone support allowance could only be considered in the budgetary context. Telephone companies and operators have an obligation and duty as well to look at that, in terms of some of our older people, in their packages. They can tailor some of their packages to suit older people. I will bring the Deputy's remarks back to the Minister. In fairness, we are hearing on a day-to-day basis of people needing their phones more and using them more, even to stay in touch. It is that element of fear. As I said, we are working with ALONE about changing the senior citizens alert scheme. We will have more information on that at a later date.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I do not mean this disrespectfully but when I have asked a question about the telephone allowance, it is probably not helpful for anyone listening in who might be conscious of the issue of the telephone allowance that the Minister of State listed other payments. We understand that there were modest increases in the budget. They did not keep pace with inflation. He will know, as I do, that inflation was running at 1.8% when the Government wrote its budget and it is now at 3.6%. That has doubled and that has pushed people who are dependent on social welfare even further into poverty. The Minister of Stat referred to "over 164,000 customers" in his reply. It is only 164,000 customers and we are not talking about large numbers. Increasingly, private care companies are shifting online to a more visual check-in with clients. That is not something that I necessarily support. In fact, I campaigned against it when I was a trade union organiser representing home helps. Much as I do not think it is good for either workers or older people, that is the direction of travel. Increasingly, older people are finding themselves in a situation where access to mobile data is not optional; it is essential for them to live their lives. The existence of the telephone support allowance is to ensure that people remain connected, can participate and are not further isolated, but if it is not updated, it will leave a significant cohort of people out. I welcome the fact that consideration will be given to it as part of the budgetary process and I thank the Minister of State for bringing my remarks back to the senior Minister.

A sum of €21.6 million or 164,000 customers are not small numbers. I thank the Deputy again for raising the matter. I agree with her that in a world that is changing hugely, we cannot let older people be left behind and left out. They are feeling isolated and vulnerable in a digital world that is changing, and we cannot ignore that. The Government will not be found wanting in that regard. The Department provides targeted payments to help people with their household costs. I listed the fuel allowance, the living alone increase, the household benefits package and additional needs payment because it is a comprehensive suite of measures and investment by Government. While these supports can, of course, help older people with their cost-of-living services, providing access to these services is also a priority for Government. In this regard, it is providing very significant funding through the national broadband plan. That plan, which is the largest ever telecommunications project undertaken by the State, will radically transform our broadband landscape through the delivery of quality, affordable high-speed broadband to all parts of Ireland where such services will be delivered and available to people. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that 1.1 million people, including people living in rural and urban areas, farms and non-farms, and businesses will be connected by 2026. I reassure the Deputy that the Department will continue to support recipients of the telephone support allowance, especially where they are vulnerable and at risk of isolation. The existing supports available in the Department along with the recent budget increases will continue to support this important group of people, but I will take the remarks the Deputy has made back to the Minister because, in a changing world, it is important that we do not leave older people behind. The world that they inhabit now is a digitally changed world and we have a duty of care to them as well.