Rent Supplement Scheme Data

Thursday, 14 December 2017

Ceisteanna (712)

Willie O'Dea

Ceist:

712. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of households in each county in the years 2012 to 2017 in receipt of rent supplement; the number of households in those years that have had their rent supplement increased over and above the standard rate set for each local authority in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54159/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting some 35,000 recipients for which the Government has provided €232 million for 2017 (following the completion of the Supplementary Estimates process).

A breakdown by county of rent supplements recipients under the scheme in respect of the period from December 2012 to the end of November 2017 is provided in the table. The strategic initiative of returning rent supplement to its original purpose, that of a short term income support, facilitated by the introduction of the HAP scheme, has been the main driver in rent supplement’s base decline with some 30,800 tenants currently in receipt of HAP.

In recognition of the ongoing rental market difficulties, my Department continues to implement a targeted case-by-case policy approach in the administration of rent supplement that allows for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of the rent limits. In addition, the Protocol arrangement in place with Threshold continues to operate in the areas where supply issues are particularly acute covering Dublin, Cork, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and Galway City. To date in 2017, approximately 1,650 recipients have been supported with increased rental payment support. A breakdown of increased rental payment support by county for the last 3 years is also provided in the table.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Tabular Statement: Rent Supplement Recipients by County .

County	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Nov-17
Carlow	1,239	1,108	1,086	962	593	399
Cavan	519	455	414	403	391	302
Clare	1,722	1,547	1,336	1,024	423	191
Cork	9,878	9,020	8,273	6,822	4,958	3,618
Donegal	2,411	2,047	1,812	1,202	415	146
Dublin	32,584	29,541	26,453	23,758	20,561	16,573
Galway	4,134	3,983	3,591	3,326	2,506	1,754
Kerry	2,037	1,888	1,736	1,633	1,554	1,156
Kildare	4,338	4,135	3,698	3,396	2,579	1,915
Kilkenny	1,365	1,210	1,011	554	319	191
Laois	1,097	1,085	1,008	978	871	574
Leitrim	374	354	324	331	281	182
Limerick	3,323	2,984	2,461	1,441	954	745
Longford	511	507	476	384	401	252
Louth	2,549	2,422	2,211	1,462	859	481
Mayo	2,435	1,900	1,619	1,528	1,074	633
Meath	2,143	1,941	1,726	1,528	1,001	577
Monaghan	438	395	352	269	188	143
Offaly	1,240	1,124	1,041	812	563	253
Roscommon	997	802	687	611	566	398
Sligo	591	542	451	478	289	129
Tipperary	2,199	2,094	1,961	1,674	901	442
Waterford	1,773	1,556	1,443	958	590	201
Westmeath	1,592	1,588	1,533	1,426	1,299	862
Wexford	3,700	3,179	2,700	2,296	1,960	1,373
Wicklow	2,495	2,381	2,130	1,991	1,945	1,571
Total	87,684	79,788	71,533	61,247	48,041	35,061

Tabular Statement: Increased Rental Payments by County

COUNTY	2015	2016	2017 to Date	Total
CARLOW	24	48	19	91
CAVAN	13	49	19	81
CLARE	60	0	0	60
CORK	305	245	8	558
DONEGAL	-	-	-	-
DUBLIN	3,860	2,680	916	7,456
GALWAY	112	94	16	222
KERRY	25	156	118	299
KILDARE	228	313	133	674
KILKENNY	112	23	5	140
LAOIS	101	18	0	119
LEITRIM	48	49	11	108
LIMERICK	7	1	10	18
LONGFORD	95	214	25	334
LOUTH	77	77	41	195
MAYO	3	0	13	16
MEATH	256	173	47	476
MONAGHAN	1	0	0	1
OFFALY	51	13	10	74
ROSCOMMON	13	40	36	89
SLIGO	0	1	0	1
TIPPERARY	165	118	45	328
WATERFORD	27	35	8	70
WESTMEATH	94	271	36	401
WEXFORD	7	15	2	24
WICKLOW	97	277	133	507
TOTAL	5,781	4,910	1,651	12,342