Saying the Budget was good news for pensioners and their families, Ms Helen Lahert, of Democratic Left, said she welcomed the decision to extend the free electricity and free telephone schemes to all pensioners over 75, regardless of their household circumstances.
Ms Lahert, who will context the forthcoming general election in Dublin North-Central said many pensioners would benefit from improvements in the method of assessing capital and saving for non-contributory pension recipients and she welcomed the decision to introduce pro-rata pensions for people with a yearly average of between 10 and 20 PRSI contributions.