Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2013
547. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the fact that housing benefit is immediately open to EU migrants arriving here; if she is fearful that this is contributing to Ireland becoming a destination for benefit tourism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46674/13]
View answerThe rent supplement, administered under the Department’s supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, provides 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. The overall aim is to provide short-term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 81,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €403 million for 2013.In the first instance, an applicant for rent supplement must satisfy the habitual residence condition (HRC) and satisfy the SWA means test. A European Economic Area (EEA) national who is engaged in genuine and effective employment in Ireland is regarded as a migrant worker under EC law and does not need to satisfy the HRC for the purpose of any claim to SWA, including rent supplement. A jobseeker who moves from one EEA country to another in order to seek employment cannot claim the advantages for migrant workers under EC law and is subject to the HRC in the normal manner.
In addition to satisfying the HRC and means test requirement, in order to qualify for a rent supplement a person must have been residing in private rented accommodation or accommodation for homeless persons or an institution (or any combination of these) for a period of 183 days within the preceding 12 months of the date of claim for rent supplement. A person may also qualify for rent supplement where an assessment of housing need has been carried out within the 12 months preceding the date of claim and the person is deemed by a housing authority to be eligible for and in need of social housing support.
In all other cases, a person who wishes to apply for rent supplement is referred, in the first instance, for an assessment of eligibility for social housing support by a housing authority. Only when the person has been assessed as being eligible for and in need of social housing support, does the person become eligible for consideration for rent supplement. Policy in relation to eligibility for social housing support is a matter for the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.
I do not consider that the conditions in place for the receipt of rent supplement are promoting benefit tourism.
