Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 March 2014
18. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding proposals to introduce a housing assistance payment and thereby transfer recipients of rent supplement from her Department to local authorities. [10339/14]
View answer24. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the policy whereby those who are working full time are not eligible for rent allowance as this forces many in low paid jobs into poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10474/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 24 together.
There are currently approximately 78,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation.
Rent supplement is not generally payable where a person or their spouse/partner is in full time employment, i.e. 30 hours or more per week. However, since 2007, a person on rent supplement who is deemed by a local authority to be eligible to participate in the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) may engage in full-time employment, subject to satisfying the standard means test, and may still be paid rent supplement.
The Department's strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of a short-term income support. In July 2013, the Government approved the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) under which responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from this Department to local authorities. Payments under the HAP scheme will be based on the local authority differential rent means test under which the full-time employment restriction does not apply and therefore will remove a key barrier to persons on social welfare in getting back to work.
Officials in the Department of Social Protection are working with those in the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, who are leading the project, in developing proposals to give effect to this transfer. It is intended that the scheme will be piloted in Limerick local authority by end March 2014 with further roll out to selected local authorities during the year.
