There are currently 95,730 people in receipt of rent supplement and 16,588 people in receipt of mortgage interest supplement.
The mortgage interest supplement scheme is currently under review. The main purpose of this review is to examine how the scheme can best meet its objective of catering for those who require assistance on a short-term basis. The review group includes representatives from my Department, the Community Welfare Service, the Departments of Finance and Environment, Heritage and Local Government, together with a representative from the Office of the Financial Regulator.
As part of the initial review, guidelines on specific and immediate operational issues were drawn up and circulated to the community welfare officers. These guidelines are available on the Department's website at www.welfare.ie.
More recently, the Government has established a broader and more comprehensive review of mortgage arrears and personal debt. The Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group under the independent chairmanship of Mr. Hugh Cooney, comprises representatives from my own Department, the Departments of Finance, Taoiseach, Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. In addition, the Group has representatives from the Office of the Financial Regulator, the ESRI, the Irish Banking Federation, the Free Legal Advice Centre and the Law Reform Commission.
The terms of reference for the Group are based on the Renewed Programme for Government, with an emphasis on protecting the family home. They include a review of the statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears and the recently agreed protocol between the Irish Bankers Federation and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service on debt default, with a view to expanding the options available for dealing with debt situations to avoid foreclosure. In addition, the Group is examining measures adopted in other jurisdictions and considering ways of expanding existing mortgage-support measures.
The conclusions and recommendations from the review of the mortgage interest supplement scheme, which is currently being finalised, will inform the work of Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group. I understand that the Group will make its report to the Minister for Finance by the end of June.