Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Apr 2001

Vol. 534 No. 5

Written Answers - Community Employment.

Noel Ahern

Question:

159 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the regulations in relation to the phased withdrawal of rent allowance from people who take up community employment schemes or who take up normal employment, either directly or after completion of a community employment scheme; and if he will outline the procedure which applicants should follow. [11208/01]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards and neither I nor my Department has any function in deciding entitlement in individual cases. Under the terms of the SWA, scheme payment of a weekly or monthly supplement may be made in respect of rent or mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs.

SWA is subject to a means test. Rent supplements are normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to their family circumstances, less £6. This £6 represents the minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Most recipients pay more than £6 towards their rent because applicants are required to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate towards their rent.

SWA is not normally payable to people in full-time employment. However arrangements have been in place for some years which allow people on approved employment schemes such as community employment to retain part of their rent or mortgage interest supplement, subject to a gross household income limit of £250 per week and certain other conditions. Following discussions with the social partners under Partnership 2000 substantial improvements in the conditions relating to the retention of rent and mortgage interest supplements were introduced from 6 April 2000. The £250 per month limit on the amount of rent supplement payable was abolished and the sharp withdrawal of support at the end of the third year was removed, the supplement now being withdrawn on a tapered basis over a four year period, that is, 75% in year one, 50% in year two, 25% in year three and 25% in year four. As a result, many participants in CE schemes now retain a greater amount of rent supplement than they would have done under the earlier arrangements. This is particularly the case for families.

In no circumstances do the new rules result in a lower rate of rent supplement than is payable under the standard rules of SWA for participants of CE schemes. All such recipients are entitled to either the gradually reducing amount that can be retained under the transitional arrangements described above or the amount that is normally paid under the standard rules of SWA described earlier, whichever is the greater.

A further initiative came into effect from 28 August 2000 to encourage people to avail of any full time job without having to go through an employment programme. Therefore, anyone who has been unemployed for 12 months or more and who moves from a welfare payment into a full-time job will be allowed to retain their rent or mortgage interest supplement on the same basis as those participating on employment programmes such as the CE scheme.

People who take up full-time employment directly without availing of an approved employment programme or who were unemployed for less than 12 months would not normally be entitled to retain rent or mortgage interest supplement.

An application for rent or mortgage interest supplement can be made by contacting the community welfare officer at the local health centre. The conditions for receiving and retaining rent and mortgage interest supplement will be examined as part of the review of the SWA scheme which is currently being undertaken as part of my Department's series of formal programme evaluations.