The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme provides for the payment of rent supplement to eligible people whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs. Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive.
Rent supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to their family circumstances less a minimum contribution of €18 which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Many recipients pay more than €18 because recipients are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have, over and above the appropriate rate of supplementary welfare allowance, towards their accommodation costs. The minimum contribution payable towards rent was increased from €13 to €18 a week with effect from January 2009 as part of Budget 2009.
The Executive has advised that the person concerned had been in receipt of rent supplement of €114 per week based on household income from his jobseekers allowance. The weekly household contribution towards rent was €26, consisting of the rent supplement recipient's minimum contribution of €13 and a contribution of €13 from a non-dependent member of the household.
The Executive has advised that as the spouse of the person concerned was awarded disability allowance in December 2008, entitlement to rent supplement had to be recalculated. The supplement is being reduced to €35 per week to take account of current household income comprised of the recipient's jobseeker's allowance, his spouse's disability allowance, the increase in the minimum contribution to rent from €13 to €18 a week for the applicant and the non dependent member of the household.
Local Authority housing is allocated in accordance with each council's scheme of letting priorities. Queries relating to housing applications should be directed to the relevant local authority.