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Rent Supplement Scheme Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Questions (262, 277, 295)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

262. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to assist persons who cannot pay their rents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26603/14]

View answer

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

277. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current rent supplement maximum limits per geographic area; if available, the percentage of the average rental charged this supplement covers in each area; if there are any plans to review the amounts payable in areas such as Dublin, in view of the increase in rents in this region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26797/14]

View answer

Billy Timmins

Question:

295. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding rent supplement payments for families (details supplied) as rent levels in parts of County Wicklow are on par with Dublin without payments reflecting the true cost rental accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27137/14]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 262, 277 and 295 together.

The Government has provided over €344 million for the rent supplement scheme in 2014, the purpose of which 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. There are currently approximately 76,000 rent supplement recipients. All prospective tenants, including those seeking to access rent supplement, particularly in urban areas, are now finding it increasingly difficult to secure appropriate accommodation due to the reduced availability of rental properties.

In view of these supply difficulties, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive in conjunction with the Dublin local authorities and voluntary organisations have agreed a protocol with the Department so that families at risk of losing existing private rented accommodation can have more timely and appropriate interventions made on their behalf. While there are no plans to extend this arrangement to other local authority areas at this time, I can assure the Deputies that officers administering rent supplement throughout the country have considerable experience in dealing with customers and make every effort to ensure that the accommodation needs of families are met. Staff in the Department’s Community Welfare Service have discretionary powers to award a supplement for rental purposes in exceptional cases where it appears that the circumstances of the case so warrant, for example, when dealing with applicants who are homeless or who are at risk of losing their tenancy. Such cases are examined on a case by case basis having regard to the situation presented.

The current maximum monthly rent limits are provided in the tabular statement. The percentage of the average rent charged that is covered by rent supplement is not available.

A new rent limit review has commenced within the Department and will feed into the budgetary process. This review will involve a comprehensive analysis of information from a range of sources including rental tenancies registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), the Central Statistics Office rental indices and websites advertising rental properties. The Department is also seeking the views from a number of stakeholders in this area including the local staff administering the scheme, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Private Residential Tenancies Board and non-Government organisations such as Threshold, Focus Ireland and the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

Maximum Monthly Rent Levels from 17 June 2013 to 31 December 2014

County:

Single Shared

Couple Shared

Single

Couple

Couple/One Parent Family

1 Child

Couple/One Parent Family 2 Children

Couple/One Parent Family 3 Children

Dublin - Fingal

300

350

520

700

850

900

950

Dublin - Not Fingal

350

400

520

750

950

975

1,000

Carlow

230

250

375

433

520

560

590

Cavan

160

190

325

350

400

415

433

Clare

190

210

320

350

400

450

500

Cork

250

270

485

575

700

725

750

Donegal

175

200

300

325

350

400

450

Galway

280

300

475

540

700

725

750

Kerry

190

220

365

390

500

520

540

Kildare

250

300

433

500

650

700

750

Kilkenny

200

230

390

430

540

565

590

Laois

200

230

340

350

450

480

520

Leitrim

175

195

300

325

350

375

400

Limerick

200

240

375

400

500

550

600

Longford

160

175

290

300

325

340

350

Louth

215

250

390

400

550

575

600

Mayo

195

215

375

390

433

465

500

Meath

200

260

390

420

550

600

650

Monaghan

180

190

300

350

400

433

450

Offaly

200

220

360

400

450

475

500

Roscommon

200

220

300

325

400

410

425

Sligo

195

220

400

425

520

540

550

Tipperary

195

220

370

400

485

500

525

Waterford

220

240

375

390

475

500

525

Westmeath

190

210

390

400

500

520

530

Wexford

250

270

375

390

500

540

575

Wicklow

240

290

425

450

600

610

625

North Kildare

270

290

500

575

750

800

850

Bray

275

300

520

680

850

925

1,000

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