Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2020
139. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to extend the rent supplement scheme for those who have been financially affected by Covid-19; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16435/20]
View answer140. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing rent supplement limits by 10%. [16441/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together.
Rent supplement continues its vital role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme currently supporting some 21,000 recipients.
The scheme provides short-term income 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. The scheme ensures that for those who were renting, and due to temporary loss of employment, can continue to meet their rental commitments.
Since the introduction of the Government’s Covid emergency response approximately 7,000 customers have been provided with rent supplement support and remain in payment. In addition, there are currently some 1,000 pending customers awaiting a decision or in the process of providing the necessary documentation to the officer dealing with their claim.
The Department’s current flexible rent supplement response has been extended to end-August 2020 and remains under review within context of the overall Government response to the Covid-19 emergency.
Based on the current customer volumes and the spread of recipients across all counties, the forecast full year cost of increasing rent limits by 10% would be approximately €15.6 million. Any proposal to alter rent limits would have to be considered in a budgetary context and take account of the wider Exchequer impact for both the RAS and HAP schemes, both of which use Rent Supplement limits for setting their award criteria.
In recognition of the on-going rental market difficulties, the Department continues to implement a targeted case-by-case flexible payment policy approach that allows for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of the rent limits. To date, approximately 15,900 cases have been provided additional flexible payment arrangements, i.e. have received support in excess of the prevailing rent limits.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
