asked the Minister for Social Welfare if she has any proposals to extend the following free benefits, which are now available to pensioners, to widows: electricity, television licences and travel.

Widows qualify for the benefits mentioned on the same basis as everyone else. At the present time I do not propose to introduce additional arrangements specifically for widows.

I dispute that reply. Is the Minister aware that, in a case in which the widow of a pensioner who dies has not herself reached pension age, she does not qualify for the benefits to which her husband had been entitled? This situation constitutes an injustice and should be considered.

The benefits to which the Deputy is referring relate to free electricity, free television licence and free travel. These facilities are available to pensioners either living alone or with certain specified categories of persons. In relation to these allowances, widows are dealt with on the same basis as are all others who are entitled to such facilities — usually old age type pensioners. I appreciate that the concern of the Deputy relates to the standard of living of widows and I expect that the matter can be looked at immediately but in a wider context than in the specific context of the extension of these facilities to widows in the case the Deputy mentions where they are younger.

Would the Minister of State agree that when free television, free travelling when accompanying her husband and the other perks which are available to pensioners are lost by a widow as a result of the death of her husband, this is an injustice which should be rectified immediately if it is not the intention of the Minister to extend the benefits I mentioned to all widows?

That is very specific and the matter raised by the Deputy was not raised in such a specific fashion. I can investigate that matter further and give the Deputy a comment on it if he wishes.

Would the Minister of State consider the position of elderly widows whose children have left home and probably are married and live a distance away? That type of person is old and lonely and probably cannot afford to go any distance to visit the family. Would the Minister of State give this matter consideration even at some future time?

While everybody would see these benefits as desirable, the cost of extending the free electricity allowance to all widows under 66 years would be £1.9 million, the cost of the free television extension would be £633,000 and the cost of the free travel would be approximately £1.7 million. The Deputy raised rather specific matters and our Government's commitment in that matter will be clear in my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for the area of poverty. We will be looking into those areas. A lot of these extensions are piecemeal and do not examine the roots of the problem. I would see my brief as examining the problems of poverty groups and I would consider the aged and widows to be quite often in that category, but widows are far from inevitably in that category. In that area I will be looking into the whole question of their way of living and improving their standard of living.

Would the Minister of State accept that in the case I stated there is no actual extra expense involved to the State or to her Department? The Department are making a saving inasmuch as they are depriving a widow of something which was available while her husband lived in taking away free television, radio and travel. In that instance is there not something which could be looked at immediately and dealt with?

The situation of the younger widow being deprived of such things is something we had not considered in the context of this question. We considered it in the wider context of all widows under 66 years. This specific matter certainly would seem to be an injustice which could be examined, and I will do so.

The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.

Yesterday, Sir, you gave me permission to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of Questions Nos. 97 and 98 on yesterday's Order Paper. The House ran out of time, so I am mentioning it again.

I will communicate with the Deputy.