Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2014
474. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons currently part of the rental accommodation scheme; and the annual cost of this scheme. [19139/14]
View answerThe Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) commenced in 2005 and to the end of February 2014 some 48,503 households have been transferred from Rent Supplement to RAS and other social housing options. Of this number 28,712 were housed directly under RAS and a further 19,791 were accommodated under other social housing options.
It is not possible to give a definitive number of households in RAS at any given time. Numbers in RAS constantly vary as contracts end, tenants move on to other properties, landlords withdraw from the scheme, new tenancies are allocated or vacancies in contracted units are filled. However, from data contained in claims submitted by local authorities of their contracted rents for Quarter 1, 2014, it is estimated that there were approximately 20,200 direct RAS tenancies in place at end March 2014 for which authorities were recently recouped.
Some €668.5m has been spent in relation to RAS to end March 2014. The table sets out the annual cost of RAS and transfer numbers achieved (transfer numbers are only available to end February) to date.
|
Year |
Annual Expenditure |
Annual No. of Transfers |
|
2004 |
€164,836 |
0 |
|
2005 |
€723,281 |
606 |
|
2006 |
€6,199,980 |
4,436 |
|
2007 |
€27,384,837 |
6,054 |
|
2008 |
€53,025,430 |
6,915 |
|
2009 |
€83,394,513 |
6,802 |
|
2010 |
€100,076,430 |
6,609 |
|
2011 |
€115,917,365 |
6,337 |
|
2012 |
€125,429,966 |
5,451 |
|
2013 |
€130,886,608 |
4,701 |
|
To date 2014 |
€25,885,338 (end Mar) |
592 (end Feb) |
|
- |
€668,588,584 |
48,503 |
