Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2015
279. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to disregard maintenance as means for rent allowance for lone parents, given that the purpose of maintenance is to make provision towards the essential needs of the child, and not to pay towards rent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38383/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 63,000 people at a cost of over €298 million in 2015.
Rent supplement is a statutory means tested scheme which is payable at differentiated rates of payment taking into account the applicant’s means and their family's accommodation requirements. Rent supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to their family circumstances less a weekly minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. The weekly minimum contribution is €30 for a single adult household and €40 for coupled households. Many recipients pay more than this amount because recipients are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate supplementary welfare allowance rate towards their accommodation costs.
For rent supplement, maintenance payments of up to €95.23 per week are assessed in determining the appropriate rate payable. Where a person has weekly maintenance payments of more than €95.23, the first €75 a week together with 25% of any additional maintenance above €75 can be disregarded for means assessment purposes. Any changes to the conditions of the rent supplement scheme can only be considered in a budgetary context.
The Department’s overall strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose, short-term income support, by transferring responsibility for persons with long-term housing needs to the local authorities under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
