According to the most recent figures made available from the Department of Social Protection, at the end of 2012 there were nearly 88,000 recipients of rent supplement, of whom 53,000 have been in receipt for longer than 18 months. The cost of rent supplement to that Department in 2012 was over €400m. The ongoing management and financing of the rent supplement scheme is a matter for the Department of Social Protection.
The most recent Housing Needs Assessment carried out in March 2011 showed that up to 41,112 households on social housing waiting lists were in receipt of rent supplement payments. In accordance with relevant legislative provisions, housing authorities have been directed to provide a full summary of social housing assessments carried out in their administrative areas at the end of April 2013, including details of numbers on rent supplement. This information will be available later in the year.
In terms of the delivery of social housing, the Government’s Housing Policy Statement, published in May 2012, clearly identifies that the main focus in terms of supports provided by Government will be on meeting the most acute needs – the housing support needs of those unable to provide for their accommodation from their own resources. The social housing capital budget has been reduced by 78% since 2008, down from €1.535 billion to some €332.7 million last year. Clearly, the financial parameters in which we will be operating for the coming years rule out a return to very large capital funded construction programmes by local authorities. Delivery of social housing will be facilitated primarily through more flexible funding models. The social housing leasing initiative and, in particular, the Rental Accommodation Scheme will each play their part as long term social housing supports.
