I propose to take Questions Nos. 214 and 215 together.
Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. To qualify for a rent supplement an eligible person must satisfy a means test. Rent supplements are normally calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum contribution, currently €13, which a recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources.
In determining entitlement to a rent supplement the Health Service Executive must also satisfy itself that an eligible person has a genuine accommodation need, which he or she cannot provide for from an alternative source, that the property being rented is suitable to his or her needs and that a bona fide tenancy exists between the applicant and his or her landlord. A further condition for receipt of rent supplement relates to limits on the level of rent an applicant can incur. The purpose of these rent limits is to ensure that the executive is not subsidising the cost of overly large or expensive accommodation.
The maximum levels of rent supported under the scheme for the period to 30 June 2005 are prescribed in regulations made under the Social Welfare Acts, Statutory Instrument No. 727 of 2003. These statutory rent limits differ across the various executive geographic areas to ensure that the rent being sought is reasonable and reflects local market conditions. In this regard, the limits that apply in Kildare are the same as those in Dublin.
Within each area, varying limits are specified also according to household composition, with scope for any special or exceptional circumstances of an applicant to be taken into consideration by the executive in determining the amount of rent supplement payable in a particular case.
As of 22 April 2005 there are 2,345 rent supplements in payment in the Kildare-west Wicklow area of the executive at a cost of approximately €4.77 million to date in 2005.