Mary O'Rourke
Question:254 Deputy Mary O’Rourke asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will review the case of persons (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [27859/08]
View answerWednesday, 9 July 2008
Questions (228, 229)
Mary O'Rourke
Question:255 Deputy Mary O’Rourke asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will review the case of persons (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [27861/08]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 254 and 255 together.
Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE), as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Rent supplement is calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the basic rate of supplementary welfare allowance, appropriate to his/her family circumstances, less a specified minimum contribution, currently €13, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Many recipients pay more than €13 because they are also required to contribute any additional assessable means that they have, over and above the appropriate rate of supplementary welfare allowance, towards their accommodation costs.
The HSE has advised that the person concerned was in receipt of rent supplement but this payment was discontinued in 2007 as her income was sufficient to meet her housing costs. If she wishes to have her current entitlement to rent supplement assessed, she should make an application at her local health centre.
The person concerned incurred an overpayment of over €5,500 while in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment (OFP), as she failed to notify the Department that she had commenced employment. She has agreed to repay the overpayment by direct debit deductions of €10 per week. She has been advised that if her earnings reduce below the current OFP income limit of €425 per week, it is open to her to reapply for OFP.