Dessie Ellis
Question:231. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of persons in receipt of rent supplement, and at each limit, per county. [13192/15]
View answerTuesday, 31 March 2015
Questions (231, 232)
Dessie Ellis
Question:232. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the decision to ban rent supplement in Ballymun, Dublin 11. [13193/15]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.
The rent supplement scheme provides support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. There are currently approximately 70,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for 2015. A breakdown of rent supplement recipients and the maximum rent limits is provided on a county basis in the attached tabular statement. The numbers of persons per county for each rent limit is not available.
The Department continues to allow for flexibility within the administration of the rent supplement scheme with each tenant’s circumstances considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents increased above prescribed limits if deemed appropriate, through the Department’s National Tenancy Sustainment Framework, and also the Interim Tenancy Sustainment Service, operated in conjunction with Threshold in Dublin and Cork areas.
Section 25 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 provided that a payment of rent supplement can be refused in respect of accommodation which is situated in an area notified to the Minister for Social Protection by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, as being an area of regeneration. The lifting of the condition for rent supplement with respect to the Ballymun regeneration area is a matter for my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.
The measures provided for in Section 25 are not a blanket refusal of rent supplement in areas of regeneration. Specific provision is made to ensure that:
- people already residing in such areas and in receipt of rent supplement may continue to receive payment; and
- people already residing in such areas in private rental accommodation and who may have recourse to rent supplement in the future would not have their entitlement restricted.
Tabular Statement A: Rent Supplement recipients, as of end February 2015
|
County |
Recipients |
|
CARLOW |
1,087 |
|
CAVAN |
421 |
|
CLARE |
1,337 |
|
CORK |
8,078 |
|
DONEGAL |
1,739 |
|
DUBLIN |
26,063 |
|
GALWAY |
3,596 |
|
KERRY |
1,692 |
|
KILDARE |
3,652 |
|
KILKENNY |
899 |
|
LAOIS |
1,009 |
|
LEITRIM |
333 |
|
LIMERICK |
2,316 |
|
LONGFORD |
479 |
|
LOUTH |
2,144 |
|
MAYO |
1,615 |
|
MEATH |
1,683 |
|
MONAGHAN |
346 |
|
OFFALY |
1,015 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
675 |
|
SLIGO |
469 |
|
TIPPERARY |
1,924 |
|
WATERFORD |
1,411 |
|
WESTMEATH |
1,525 |
|
WEXFORD |
2,584 |
|
WICKLOW |
2,091 |
|
Grand Total |
70,183 |
Tabular Statement B: Currently in force Maximum Rental Limits
|
County: |
Single Shared |
Couple Shared |
Single |
Couple |
Couple/One Parent Family - 1 qualified Child |
Couple/One Parent Family - 2 qualified Children |
Couple/One Parent Family - 3 qualified 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 |