Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards, payment of a weekly or monthly supplement may be made in respect of rent to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs after they pay their rent. The purpose of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme is to deal with emergencies and short-term needs that arise when a person suffers a change in circumstances, for example when a tenant becomes unemployed and can no longer afford their rent.
Rent supplements were never intended to meet a persons long-term housing needs. The scheme is not a housing programme but, in practice, has become such over the years. It does not make sense to have two parallel but entirely separate programmes one operated by the housing authorities and the other by the health boards. Furthermore, the rent supplement scheme does not give a good long-term outcome to the individual. They have limited security of tenure, accommodation standards can sometimes be poor and they must remain on social welfare in order to retain their accommodation. Neither does the scheme give a good outcome to the State, as it provides poor long-term value for money and, in effect, bypasses the priorities set by the local authorities in their housing programmes.