The Telephone Allowance is to be brought back from October 2018, Independent.ie has learned.
A decision was taken to prioritise the allowance which was abolished in 2014 over the restoration of the €850 bereavement grant.
Independent Alliance ministers had sought both payments to be included in today’s budget but were told by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe that he can only afford one.
In particular OPW Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran had been pushing for the Telephone Allowance, while it’s understood junior education minister John Halligan favoured the Bereavement Grant.
When it was cut during the austerity years the Telephone Allowance was worth €9.50 a month to pensioners and low income households.
Today’s budget will also include an increase in the Fuel Allowance from next October.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42
