Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I am in regular discussion with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, on the issue of the transfer of rent supplement from her Department to the local authorities. We have brought two memos to Government. The full roll-out of it will not happen next year. We intend to begin with a pilot phase sometime next year. It is obviously a major change to which the Government is committed. It involves the transfer of a large number of recipients of rent supplement to the local authorities and Deputy Catherine Murphy correctly points out that it is a big change which involves a good deal of work.

On the financial side of it, the intention is that it will be Exchequer neutral. In effect, it is transferring a group of recipients from one Department to another. In terms of how it will work, there are a number of purposes. One is that the entire cohort of those who are in need of housing support will be under the one system and there will not be one lot in one Department and the rest under the local government system. It will be coherent and it will be easier for those involved in the system. We also want to ensure that we can do it in a coherent way. We want to get rid of the poverty traps that are there at present of which public representatives around this table will be well aware where recipients are afraid of losing their rent supplement if they get even part-time work. The intention is that when it is fully implemented there will be a sliding rent scale - something similar to the differential rent system under local authorities - so that recipients will not suddenly lose their rent supplement but that they will pay in accordance with their ability to pay.

We will introduce a pilot phase next year. We are in ongoing discussions and there will be a further memo to Cabinet in the fairly near future. The intention is to eliminate poverty traps and to make the system more coherent. It will involve a payment system for those currently on rent supplement who will move to the new system that will be more appropriate in terms of a gradual increase in the amount they pay if they are able to secure employment. No doubt it will be a better system for those involved. However, it is a big move. That is why, initially, we need to conduct a pilot to start off the scheme. Bringing in the entire group in one go would be difficult for the local authorities.