The Government announced in early July 2004 a new initiative whereby local authorities will meet the long-term housing needs of social welfare rent supplementation recipients. The new arrangements will involve local authorities progressively assuming responsibility over a four year period for accommodating rent supplement recipients who have been assessed as having long-term housing need, excluding asylum-seekers or other non-nationals who do not have leave to remain in the State permanently and persons in receipt of rent supplement as a "back to work" incentive or of mortgage supplementation.
Under the new rental accommodation scheme local authorities will use a range of measures, including entering into direct contractual arrangements with accommodation providers in the private rental sector, to provide good quality and affordable accommodation for SWA rent supplement recipients who are in need of long-term housing support.
The new approach will provide a structured, proactive, supply based approach to meet long-term housing need instead of depending on ad hoc rent allowance payments. It will also involve the development of additional accommodation through new-build PPP type projects, which would be financed, developed and operated on a long-term basis by the private sector but made available exclusively for households nominated by local authorities.
Funding will be provided to local authorities to support the cost of the new scheme through the redirection of resources from the existing social welfare allowance rent supplement scheme. This funding is in addition to moneys already being provided under the local authority housing programmes. The Government's commitment to the social housing programmes, with a combined 2004 Exchequer and non-Exchequer provision of €1.884 billion, will be in no way diminished. However, we hope to get better value for the totality of spending as between the local authority provision and the rent supplement scheme.
I see the new long-term approach as facilitating a more effective response to housing need through better accommodation standards and security for tenants, improved value for money and an increased supply of accommodation.
