I propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 124 together.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards, provides for a weekly or monthly supplement of rent to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation needs. Although the scheme is intended to address short-term income maintenance needs, the numbers accessing it in recent years have grown substantially and the length of time people spend on the scheme has increased. Consequently, a number of changes to the rent supplement scheme were introduced earlier this year.
The likely impact of the changes was assessed in advance and the manner of their implementation was carefully designed to ensure that the interests of vulnerable groups such as the homeless, the elderly and the disabled are protected. The community welfare staff who administer the scheme on behalf of my Department were advised of the changes by means of a formal circular. My Department has been in regular contact with the community welfare staff before and since the introduction of the changes in January.
A working group was established under Sustaining Progress to facilitate engagement with the social partners in monitoring the impact of the changes to the scheme. The working group, which was chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, included representatives from ICTU and the community and voluntary pillars, as well as my Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The group met a number of community welfare officers as part of its work. The working group examined 498 randomly selected rent supplement applications which were refused since the measures came into effect in January 2004. The result was that they found that only 11% of refusals were because of the new measures. Many of those would in any event have been refused on other grounds. The group concluded that the new measures were not having any significant adverse impact with regard to the design of the measures, including the operation of the appropriate level of discretion by the community welfare officers. In that regard, I point out that more than 27,000 rent supplements have been awarded since the measures came into effect at the end of January 2004.
The recent report by CentreCare and the City Centre Dublin Citizens' Information Service stated that its purpose was to identify issues arising from the first six months since changes to rent supplement eligibility rules were introduced. The report was based on a survey of 51 cases where the applicant was refused rent supplement, with information relating to 40 other similar cases not included in the survey. The report does not show that the new measures are causing hardship. In some cases, rent supplements were awarded. It is also clear from the information given regarding several other cases cited that the application failed for reasons not connected with the new measures. My Department has identified several significant inaccuracies in the report and does not accept its central conclusions.
In the light of the report published by the social partners working group and the fact that more than 27,000 rent supplements have been awarded since the measures became effective, it does not appear that the changes in the supplementary welfare allowance rent schemes have created hardship. Deputies are aware that the arrangements are part of a wider programme of change whereby local authorities will progressively assume responsibility for meeting long-term housing needs, including those of people dependent on rent supplements for 18 months or longer. Those new arrangements will see local authorities put in place positive solutions for people with long-term housing needs, while the existing rent supplement scheme will continue to provide short-term income support in appropriate circumstances. The overall programme of change, particularly the greater role of the housing authorities regarding people who need rent supplements, will result in a better outcome both for the State and the individuals concerned.