Rent or mortgage interest supplement is not normally payable where a person or their spouse or partner is in full-time employment, that is for 30 hours or more a week. However, provision was made in 2007 whereby a person on rent supplement participating on the back to work enterprise allowance scheme, who is accepted as eligible for accommodation under the rental accommodation scheme ("RAS"), may return to full-time work, subject to a means test, without losing the entire rent supplement payment. Those who transfer to RAS and engage in employment will have the advantage of the differential rent scheme which is administered by the various local authorities.
Arrangements are also in place to allow a person to participate in the back to work enterprise allowance or to engage in full-time employment and retain entitlement to mortgage interest supplement for up to 4 years on a tapered basis. If a claimant is on an approved scheme they can retain 75% of their mortgage interest supplement in year 1, 50% in year 2, and 25% in years 3 and 4. This arrangement is subject to the claimant's income being below an income threshold, currently €317.43. Any amount of back to work allowance payable and family income supplement is disregarded in the assessment of household income. PRSI and reasonable travelling expenses are also disregarded.