Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. It is a condition of entitlement to rent supplement that, in any continuous 18 month period, a person has not refused a third offer of accommodation made by a housing authority, including accommodation offered under the Rental Accommodation Scheme.
The Executive has advised that payment of rent supplement to the person concerned was stopped as she has refused three offers of accommodation by her local authority in a period of 18 months. The Executive has further advised that the person concerned has appealed against this decision. The Appeals Officer will be in contact with the person concerned when a decision has been made on her appeal.