I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 193 together.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The Value for Money examination undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) looked at the rent supplement scheme over the period 2000 to 2005.
One of the main issues raised by the C&AG relates to the substantial increase in expenditure on rent supplement over the period of review. As the report notes, it increased from €151m in 2000 to almost €370m in 2005. In the same period recipient numbers rose from 42,700 to just over 60,000. The factors driving the increase include an increase in the number of recipients, changes in household composition, increased rent levels and policy changes such as easing the means test.
During the period under review my Department took measures to address increases in expenditure. For example in December 2002, my Department assumed responsibility for setting limits in respect of which rent supplements are paid. Until 2002, these limits were set by the then Health Boards. Rent supplements are not paid where rents exceed the maximum levels set other than in exceptional circumstances. The limits were again reviewed in December 2003 and June 2005 and a further review will take place before the end of 2006.
It is clear to me, and the report acknowledges, that rent supplementation under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme has, over the years, developed beyond the original objective of providing short-term assistance with accommodation costs. In recent years, a significant number of people have come to rely on rent supplements for extended periods, including people on local authority housing waiting lists. For this reason, the scheme needs to be viewed in the context of overall social housing policy, particularly in the case of long-term claimants.
In response to this situation, the Government has introduced new rental assistance arrangements including the rental accommodation scheme (RAS) giving local authorities specific responsibility for meeting the longer-term housing needs of people receiving rent supplement for 18 months or more, on phased implementation basis. When fully operational, local authorities will meet the housing needs of these individuals through a range of approaches including the traditional range of social housing options, the voluntary housing sector and, in particular, new public / private partnership arrangements.
According to recent information from the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government, to date over 11,000 rent supplement cases have been reviewed, 1,600 properties inspected and some 1,700 cases transferred to RAS. An additional 1,200 rent supplement households have also been allocated local authority housing.
While RAS is the way forward, I am also conscious of the need to look at other approaches to providing appropriate housing responses for long-term rent supplement recipients. As Deputies are aware, officials from my Department and the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government are together overseeing a study to identify possible viable alternative approaches to providing an appropriate housing response for those concerned. These would be in addition or complimentary to the range of social housing options currently provided for by that Department through local government initiatives. I understand that the study is well advanced and I expect to be apprised of its findings in the near future.
I have no plans to replace rent supplement with a general housing benefit scheme. The Government's priority is to provide housing, not new types of payments in lieu of housing. I will, of course, keep the rent supplement scheme under review and I may introduce further changes in the means test to improve work incentives, as I did in last year's budget. This targeted approach, together with delivering housing solutions to long-term rent supplement recipients, is likely to provide a better outcome than replacing the rent payment.