Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 September 2014
47. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of rent supplement claimants that have had their rent supplement withdrawn due to their rent being over the limits in the past two years, per household size, quarter, per part-county nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35013/14]
View answer48. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of notifications containing quoted text (details supplied) that have been sent to families; the number of notices of withdrawal of rent supplement in the past two years, per household size, quarter, per part-county nationally; her view that this renders them effectively homeless at the instruction of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35019/14]
View answer49. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the acute housing problem in north and south Kildare; if she will provide the figures detailing the lack of any accommodation below the maximum rent limits; the manifest lack of willingness of agents or landlords to accept rent supplement at all since the changes to the limits in 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35020/14]
View answer59. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the financial savings her Department is making overall on rent supplement spends, broken down by category; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35099/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 47 to 49, inclusive, and 59 together.
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. There are currently approximately 73,800 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.
Rent supplement expenditure from 2008 to August 2014 is provided in the attached tabular statement. Statistics in relation to rent supplement expenditure by category or household type are not available. Overall expenditure on rent supplement has decreased from a maximum spend of over €516 million in respect of over 97,000 recipients in 2010 to some €373 million in respect of almost 80,000 recipients in 2013. Changes in expenditure are attributable to variations in recipient numbers experienced during the economic crisis, the transfer of recipients to social housing, changes in maximum rent limits and increases to the minimum contribution payable by rent supplement tenants.
The most recent review of maximum rent limits was completed in June 2013 with revised rent limits introduced on 17 June 2013. Despite pressures on the social protection budget, the last review saw rent limits increase in line with market rents in some areas, including Dublin and Galway, with Dublin limits increasing by a weighted average of 9%. Separate to the county limits, higher rent limits were provided for north Kildare which were increased by up to 25% for single persons and up to 10% for families.
A rent limit review has commenced within the Department and will feed into the budgetary process. This review involves 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, relevant Departments and Agencies, and non-Government organisations such as Threshold, Focus Ireland and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The current difficulties in the rental market and the difficulties faced by prospective tenants, including those seeking access to rent supplement, is a shortage of supply of suitable properties in areas of high demand including the areas in Kildare referred to by the Deputy. I would be concerned that raising rent limits is not the solution to the problem as it is likely to add to further rental inflation and impact, not alone on rent supplement recipients, but also on many lower income workers and students. The Government has recently launched its Construction Strategy with the aim of increasing housing supply generally.
Statistics are not maintained on the numbers of recipients that have had their rent supplement withdrawn due to the rent being over the limits or the number of notifications issued as referred to by the Deputy. However, I can assure the Deputy that officers administering rent supplement throughout the country have considerable experience in dealing with customers and make every effort to ensure that their accommodation needs are met. Discretionary powers are available to the CWS staff to award a supplement for rental purposes in exceptional cases where it appears that the circumstances of the case so warrant. A notice reminding staff of their statutory discretionary power to award a supplement for rental purposes in exceptional cases, for example, when dealing with applicants who are at risk of losing their tenancy, has recently been circulated.
In view of the current supply difficulties, the Department has agreed a protocol with the Dublin local authorities and voluntary organisations so that families on rent supplement who are at risk of losing their accommodation can have more timely and appropriate interventions made on their behalf. Since the launch of this initiative in mid-June 2014, approximately 115 families have had their rent supplement claims revised by the Department.
The fact that almost 74,000 people are currently in receipt of rent supplement shows that a significant number of landlords are accommodating and negotiating with applicants of the scheme. The Department is aware that some leading property websites ask potential landlords to indicate whether they will accept rent supplement tenancies. It is the Department’s expressed position that this practice should cease and the matter has been raised with the leading websites.
Rent Supplement: End of Year Recipient Numbers & Expenditure: 2008 to Date
|
Year |
Recipients |
Cost €000 |
|
2008 |
74,038 |
440,548 |
|
2009 |
93,030 |
510,751 |
|
2010 |
97,260 |
516,538 |
|
2011 |
96,803 |
502,747 |
|
2012 |
87,684 |
422,536 |
|
2013 |
79,788 |
372,909 |
|
End August 2014 |
74,080 |
229,000 |
