Eastern Board allowance allocation
The Minister gave total supplementary welfare allowance expenditure for 1983–85 and footwear-scheme figures, but said the Board’s returns did not provide the other requested category breakdowns. He described the returns used to monitor spending.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total allocation of funds to the Eastern Health Board for supplementary welfare allowances for the years 1983, 1984 and 1985; if he will specify the expenditure in the years 1983 and 1984 by the Eastern Health Board on (a) clothing grants, (b) assistance with ESB bills, (c) the footwear scheme, (d) mortgage assistance and (e) rent assistance; if he will request the Eastern Health Board to revert to the procedures used up to 1983 for the payment of clothing grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Comment on this
Particulars of total expenditure on supplementary welfare allowances in the Eastern Health Board area for the years in question are as follows: 1983, £13.7 million; 1984, £17.0 million (estimated); 1985, £20.12 million (estimated).
The information supplied by the board does not enable a breakdown of expenditure along the lines requested by the Deputy, except in the case of the footwear scheme. Estimated expenditure on that scheme was £289,000 in 1983 and £427,000 in 1984.
Comment on this
How is it possible for the health board to manage the expenditure of this money in a proper manner or how can the Department monitor it if they are not providing the breakdown which I requested in regard to assistance for ESB bills, mortgage, rent and clothing grants?
Comment on this
The Deputy will be aware that there are multiple payments and multiple reasons why payments are made. Particulars of expenditure on the scheme are received by the health boards in three different forms. We receive a quarterly return of the number of recipients and expenditure furnished by the superintendent community welfare officers. We also get particulars of the monthly expenditure returns furnished by the superintendent CWOs and we get a final figure then supplied by the finance departments of the different boards. Suffice it to say that a very substantial amount of money is now being paid out on supplementary welfare, having gone from around £11 million in 1982 up to well over £20 million this year, and the pressure on the health boards is very considerable.