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Rent Supplement Scheme Payments

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 April 2014

Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Questions (13, 15, 17, 24, 28, 40)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

13. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the knock-on repercussions in areas like counties Kildare and Meath where rent supplement cut-off levels are exacerbating an already dangerous situation; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that other services of the State are in increasingly high demand as a result of persons not being able to locate suitable accommodation in their areas, in particular homelessness and emergency accommodation services; if her Department has weighed the additional cost of providing these services against the cost of loosening the rent supplement levels and if so, if she will share those data; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17731/14]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

15. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has received information to the effect that rent support available to applicants for local authority housing in north Kildare and surrounding area is inadequate to secure accommodation in the current competitive market; if consideration will be given to identification of a formula whereby such applicants can at least source accommodation in the short term or until the housing shortage is alleviated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17737/14]

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Clare Daly

Question:

17. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the severe crisis in securing rental accommodation in the greater Dublin area if a person is in receipt of rent supplement to immediately review the amount and method of paying this allowance. [17644/14]

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Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

24. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the dramatic rise in rents in urban centres, and in Dublin in particular, when she will review the caps for rent allowance; if she will meet representatives of the four Dublin local authorities and senior staff from community welfare to discuss the real impact on local authorities and the community welfare service of these rent increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17712/14]

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Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

28. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has carried out a cost-benefit analysis of the rent allowance programme. [16752/14]

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Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

40. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of considerable lack of affordable private rental accommodation in Dublin due to rent increases and a decrease in rent allowance, her plans to co-ordinate a multi-pronged approach to tackle the issue of Dublin's accommodation crisis in terms of raising rent allowance or social welfare supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17646/14]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 15, 17, 24, 28 and 40 together.

There are currently approximately 78,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme was introduced in 1977 which provided for the payment of additional supplements, including rent supplement. 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 who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources. 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.

The Department continues to monitor trends in the private rental market to determine the impact on rent supplement recipients and the maximum rent limits are comprehensively reviewed every 18 months. Following the most recent review of the private rental market revised maximum rent limits were introduced from Monday 17 June 2013 until 31 December 2014. The purpose of the review is to ensure availability of accommodation for rent supplement tenancies and not to provide access to all housing in all areas while ensuring maximum value for money is achieved. Despite the overall pressures on the social protection budget, there have been increases in the rent limits in Dublin, Galway, North Kildare and Bray areas.

I am aware of the difficulties facing people in sourcing accommodation and the latest Daft.ie rental report indicates that the number of advertised rental units in Dublin has declined from 6,700 in 2009 to under 1,500 at the end of 2013. This report also states that rent levels are static in areas outside Dublin, including Cork, Galway and Limerick cities. All prospective tenants, including those seeking to access rent supplement, are now finding it increasingly difficult to secure appropriate accommodation due to the reduced availability of rental properties, particularly in Dublin, which impacts across a number of State services. Increasing the maximum rent limits for rent supplement will not resolve this difficulty, due to the reduced level of supply, and would result in further increases in rental costs for all persons renting including those on reduced incomes and students. I have no plans to change the revise the maximum rent limits at this time.

Department officials administering rent supplement have considerable experience in dealing with customers of the scheme and will continue to make every effort to ensure that their accommodation needs are met and that the residence is reasonably suited to their residential needs. The fact that approximately 78,000 people are currently in receipt of rent supplement, of which almost 29,000 are in the Dublin area, 1,908 in Meath and 3,996 in Kildare of which 914 are in North Kildare, shows that a significant number of landlords are accommodating applicants of the scheme in these areas.

The provision of homeless accommodation services and associated costs is a matter for the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. Officials in the Department’s community welfare service, including through its work in the Homeless Persons Unit (HPU) and the Asylum Seekers & New Communities Unit, work closely with local authorities and other stakeholders to facilitate homeless persons to access private rented accommodation. This ensures that where possible, people are diverted away from homeless services and towards community-based supports. Officials in the Dublin local authorities are currently engaging with the Department to develop an inter-agency intervention system to identify vulnerable households who are in receipt of rent supplement and at risk of becoming homeless due to the imminent loss of their tenancy. I am satisfied with the level of engagement in place between officials from the Department and the local authorities.

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 HAP, responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities. Officials in the Department are working closely with those in the lead Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, in piloting HAP in Limerick City and County Council with further roll out to selected local authorities during the year.

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