I propose to take Questions Nos. 681 and 682 together.
I understand that ‘top up’ payments under the rent supplement scheme fall into two specific categories – those that are specifically approved by the Department of Social Protection where a person has additional income above the rate of supplementary welfare allowance which would allow additional rent payments to be made and still have sufficient income to meet their basic needs, and those that occur when ‘false declarations’ of rent supplement are made through the use of illegal top - ups. While the matter of both authorised and illegal top - ups in rent supplement have been discussed in the context of developing the business processes for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) my Department has not included an estimate of rental top-ups for the purposes of HAP in terms of what currently might be paid by tenants under the rent supplement scheme.
In respect of the staff resources, the business process design exercise for HAP which was completed in 2013 involved input from all the relevant key stakeholders. This process included a preliminary examination of the organisational structure that will be required for HAP, including any change management issues that may arise. In the context of that exercise the County and City Managers’ Association (CCMA), as part of the wider local government reform agenda, is considering the delivery possibilities including the costs and resource requirements. The CCMA, in conjunction with the local authorities involved in the first phase of HAP, are providing on-going advice to my Department in relation to the resources that will be required by local authorities to implement HAP. Limerick City and County Council as lead authority has led on preparation of a business case, under the direction of the HAP Project Board, for the delivery of HAP by local authorities. The business case is at an advanced stage of drafting.