Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

There are a number of different dimensions to the questions. Housing policy is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in conjunction with local authorities. My understanding of government policy is that we want to move to a position where rent supplement is a short-term support for people.

Assistance for people who have longer-term housing needs would be delivered through a new system called the housing assistance payment. It has been designed specifically to reduce the perceived disincentive to progress from unemployment to work or from dependence to working. Measures are being taken to progress the policy over the course of the year. There were concerns regarding rent supplement in terms of local authority housing and shifting people from rent supplement into the rental accommodation scheme, RAS.

With regard to the security of the payment and the contribution of the individual, one measure that was put in place by the most recent Social Welfare Bill was a mandatory deduction at source facility or household budgeting system that is operated by An Post. In order words, when a local authority offers a house under RAS it would be on condition that the individual that is due to benefit would sign up to a mandatory deduction of their rent that is payable through the household budgeting system. That system is now on a statutory basis and we are working with the local authorities and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to put it into effect. Ultimately, it is about shifting to the new housing assistance payment system which I am not at liberty to discuss today because it is the prerogative of a different Department.

There was an issue raised about the potential for houses to be sold thus reducing the availability of rental accommodation for people who could benefit from a rent supplement. We monitor it closely by ensuring that the current rent limits are still operable and we also review rent limits. One of the things that we take some comfort from is that somewhere between 45,000 and 48,000 new rent supplements were agreed last year. That is evidence that there was sufficient housing and private rented accommodation for people to avail of. Obviously the role of my Department's community welfare service officers exists to facilitate and assist people to find alternative accommodation when the need arises. That measure continues in place.

Another review of the rent limits will take place in July. Therefore, the rent limits will be assessed in order to ensure that rents are operable. A real issue for us is that rent limits can have a push or pull factor when it comes to determining rent payable in the private sector. A number of different facets are moving at the same time such as the rent limits and our continued assessment of them. We must also ensure that there is enough accommodation available within the rent limits and areas. Our supplementary welfare allowance colleagues in Sligo monitor the scheme on a continual basis. There is also the ongoing work in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. For example, the progress of the pilot projects of the housing assistance payment scheme for some time later this year and moving more people into RAS pending that measure.