I propose to take Questions Nos. 815 to 818, inclusive, together.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a weekly or monthly supplement to be paid in respect of rent or mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Department. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term 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.
Similarly, mortgage interest supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only.
The following is a tabular statement on rent and mortgage interest supplement recipients and expenditure for: 2007; 2008; and 2009. Currently there is no available data on expenditure for rent and mortgage interest supplement for 2010. Expenditure data is collected on a month-end basis. I also attach tables showing the number of rent and mortgage interest supplement claims registered and awarded in: 2007; 2008; 2009; and up to the 15th of January 2010. Figures are unavailable for the number of claims registered and awarded for the years 2005 and 2006. Further tables show the number of rent and mortgage interest supplement appeals received and, of those, the number of appeals which were successful for the years 2005 to 2009.
Recipients and Expenditure on Rent Supplement 2006 to 2009
Year
|
Recipients
|
Expenditure
|
|
|
€000*
|
2006
|
59,861
|
388,339
|
2007
|
59,726
|
391,466
|
2008
|
74,038
|
440,784
|
2009
|
93,030
|
507,681
|
*Expenditure for 2009 is Provisional.
*No expenditure figures for 2010 available.
Recipients and Expenditure on Mortgage Interest Supplement 2006 to 2009
Year
|
Recipients
|
Expenditure
|
|
|
€000*
|
2006
|
3,424
|
7,872
|
2007
|
4,111
|
12,198
|
2008
|
8,091
|
27,675
|
2009
|
15,101
|
60,727
|
*Expenditure for 2009 is Provisional.
*No expenditure figures for 2010 available.
Rent Supplement Claims Registered and Awarded 2007 to 2010
Year
|
Claims Registered
|
Claims Awarded
|
2007
|
43,832
|
41,197
|
2008
|
67,136
|
62,122
|
2009
|
97,523
|
87,802
|
2010*
|
2,580
|
2,246
|
*To 15 January 2010.
Notes
Claims registered include claims not pursued by the applicant and re-application where a rent supplement recipient moves to new accommodation.
Claim details are recorded electronically where it is established that rent supplement is payable. Where an appeal has been lodged, claim details are also recorded electronically.
Given the pressure on the community welfare service, claim details are not always recorded on the system where no entitlement has been established to rent supplement.
The difference between claims registered and claims awarded is not necessarily a refusal rate, for the reasons outlined above.
In these circumstances, fully reliable statistics are not available on the total number of people who applied for and were refused rent supplement.
Mortgage Interest Supplement Claims Registered and Awarded 2007 to 2010
Year
|
Claims Registered
|
Claims Awarded
|
2007
|
3,694
|
2,985
|
2008
|
8,827
|
7,080
|
2009
|
18,796
|
13,724
|
2010*
|
482
|
338
|
*To 15 January 2010.
Notes
Claims registered include claims not pursued by the applicant.
Claim details are recorded electronically where it is established that rent supplement is payable. Where an appeal has been lodged, claim details are recorded electronically.
Given the pressure on the community welfare service, claim details are not always recorded on the system where no entitlement has been established to mortgage interest supplement.
The difference between claims registered and claims awarded is not necessarily a refusal rate, for the reasons outlined above.
In these circumstances, fully reliable statistics are not available on the total number of people who applied for and were refused mortgage interest supplement.
Rent Supplement Appeals Received and Granted by HSE Appeals Officers 2005 to 2009
Year
|
Appeals Received
|
Appeals Granted
|
2005
|
930
|
268
|
2006
|
1,701
|
591
|
2007
|
806
|
208
|
2008
|
2,996
|
742
|
2009
|
1,489
|
336
|
Mortgage Interest Supplement Appeals Received and Granted by HSE Appeals Officers 2005 to 2009
Year
|
Appeals Received
|
Appeals Granted
|
2005
|
14
|
—
|
2006
|
241
|
64
|
2007
|
104
|
20
|
2008
|
686
|
113
|
2009
|
878
|
84
|