Proposed cuts in social welfare

[STEINER]

I just read online about some proposed cuts in various social welfare allowances.

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/elderly-carers-jobless-to-be-hit-by-cuts-160935.html

one thing I find odd is that if a person getting a telephone allowance is using eircom then their phone allowance is not reduced, and presumably someone using another phone provider is penalised by having their phone allowance reduced. surely this is unfair, discriminatory and anti competitive???

 

[gipimann]

The Minister's press release didn't call it an exemption, as the Examiner did. Here's the paragraph from the press release:

The Telephone Allowance will be set at €22.22 per month (from €25.91 per month) from September 2011. However, the Department of Social Protection has negotiated with Eircom, the main supplier, to ensure that all Eircom customers will get a value of €26.86 towards their telephone bill. Commenting on this change Minister Burton said: “I welcome this new ‘social benefits’ deal with Eircom to obtain maximum value for the State and for our customers. We’ll no longer pay a monthly rental for handsets, but customers will be able to keep their set at no charge. It just makes more sense.”

My reading of this is that eircom are making up the difference, not SW, by covering the charge for handset rental which SW previously paid.

Link to the press release:
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Press/PressReleases/2011/Pages/pr120711.aspx