asked the Minister for Social Welfare if, in view of the impending reorganisation of local goverment in the Dublin area, she will extend the urban fuel scheme to all of County Dublin.

My Department are at present formulating proposals for rationalisation of the situation in which there are two fuel schemes with differing conditions for eligibility. The intention is to introduce a single scheme with uniform criteria for entitlement based on need. I hope to have this rationalisation completed before the commencement of the next heating season in October and in this event the question of extension of the existing urban scheme will not arise.

Does the Minister propose to vary the amount which will be payable to people under this new scheme or will the urban rate be paid?

Every effort is being made to introduce a single scheme with uniform criteria, and the scheme will be based on need. I do not have further details on that because it is still being worked on. The aim and determination are to have one uniform scheme and there will not be a distinction between urban and rural areas.

Will the introduction of the new scheme require legislation or can it be done by regulation? Will it require alteration of regulations, amended last year, which allocated these fuel grants on the basis of the type of welfare benefit of which a person was in receipt rather than on actual need?

As the Deputy is aware the national fuel scheme is governed by regulations and I would expect that another national scheme replacing the two existing schemes would be governed by regulations also.

I am sure the Minister is aware that the present regulations exclude certain people because they are in receipt of certain types of benefit — unemployment, disability and so on — irrespective of need. I take it from the Minister's reply that the new scheme will be based entirely on need and no one will be excluded because of the kind of benefit he is in receipt of.

That is the intention.