asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he is aware that community welfare officers in Dublin appear to be making deductions of about £6 from the basic supplementary welfare allowance in the case of homeless persons; if he approves of the principle that homeless people should get a reduced rate of supplementary welfare allowance; if he is aware that the reductions appear to be made on the basis that the Simon Community night shelter provides board and lodging for those homeless persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

One of the items which must be taken into account in calculating the means of an applicant for supplementary welfare allowance is the value of any benefits or privileges enjoyed by him. This item normally consists of free board and lodging.

I understand that the Simon Community provide free accommodation, breakfast and supper and under the legislation account must be taken of this in the assessment of means. I understand from the Eastern Health Board, who administer the supplementary welfare allowance scheme in Dublin, that the value of benefit and privilege in respect of free board and lodging at the Simon Community hostel is normally assessed at around £6 per week. I would consider that this amount is reasonable having regard to the present cost of food and accommodation.

Surley the Minister must agree that it is a most heartless decision in relation to the most deprived members of our society, the homeless vagrants in our city that they be charged £6 per week by the Department for accommodation provided by a charitable organisation like the Simon Community? Can the Minister tell us when this directive was introduced?

This has always been the system of assessment.

How is the information given to the Department about whether people are getting accommodation? Is homelessness the criterion for depriving those people of £6 per week?

As the Deputy is well aware this scheme is administered by the health board, in this case the Eastern Health Board. They have criteria and they use the criterion of board and lodgings for taking into account reductions on an allowance being granted. It is not new.

Surely the Minister is aware that the health board seek to implement a scheme for which the main guidelines are laid down and administered by his Department? Surely the Minister is not condoning the action of the health board in this matter? Could the Minister not give an assurance that the matter will be further investigated?

I am not condoning it. I am merely saying that the health board operate this scheme in their own way and they make the decisions on what is done.

The health board operate under the direction of the Department. Surely the Minister must accept that he is the person responsible for the decisions being made in this case and other similar cases?

Could the Minister ask them to review the matter?

I will ask the board to look at this situation.

Could the Minister tell us the gross amount and the net amount being paid to those homeless people in Dublin? Could he tell us the number of homeless people in our capital city and could he tell us the total number of homeless people in the country?

These are all separate questions. The Minister has no notice of them.

They are all concerned with this.

They are, but there might be 50 other questions. They are not supplementaries to which the Minister could be expected to have replies at hand.

As a new Deputy I would have presumed that the information would be at his disposal.

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