I propose to take Questions Nos. 212 and 213 together.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a weekly or monthly rent supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.
As of last Friday, 13 May, there were 58,283 people receiving rent supplement. Monthly expenditure on the scheme is approximately €29.4 million on average over the first third of this year. For the years from 1997 to 2004 inclusive, details of recipient numbers at the end of December each year and associated annual expenditure are set out in the following table:
Rent Supplement: annual expenditure and number of recipients 1997 to 2004.
Year
|
Recipients at end December
|
Annual Expenditure
|
1997
|
Est. 40,000
|
95.61m
|
1998
|
Est. 40,000
|
111.74m
|
1999
|
41,873
|
128.24m
|
2000
|
42,683
|
150.59m
|
2001
|
45,028
|
179.40m
|
2002
|
54,213
|
252.34m
|
2003
|
59,976
|
331.47m
|