I propose to take Questions Nos. 164 and 175 together.
The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is designed to cater for the accommodation needs of persons in receipt of rent supplement who have a long-term housing need. Since transfers commenced in September 2005, 3,000 households have been provided with RAS accommodation and a further 2,300 rent supplement households have been allocated local authority housing. Information on the number of individual landlords with whom RAS agreements have been made is not held in the Department.
To date some 20,000 cases the equivalent of over 60% of the current target group of recipients on rent supplement for more than 18 months have been reviewed by local authorities for transfer to RAS.
The amount spent to date on the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is of the order of €8.020 million. Information on the full cost of implementing and administering the scheme at local and national level will be included in a review of the scheme to be undertaken at the end of 2007. Allocations and expenditure by year for RAS are set out in the table hereunder.
Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS): Annual allocations and expenditure.
Year
|
Allocation
|
Expenditure
|
|
€ million
|
€ million
|
2004
|
*
|
0.165
|
2005
|
19
|
0.723
|
2006
|
19
|
6.200
|
2007
|
25
|
0.932(to date)
|
* No separate allocation in 2004.