Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, a weekly or monthly rent or mortgage interest supplement is available to assist eligible people who are unable to meet their immediate accommodation needs through their own resources.

Rent and mortgage interest supplements are subject to a means test. They are normally calculated to ensure that, after payment of rent or mortgage interest, an eligible person has income equal to the rate of basic supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum contribution, currently €13, which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources.

In general, a person does not face any reduction in the amount of his or her rent supplement as a result of budgetary increase in his or her primary social welfare payment. Where the supplementary welfare allowance rate increases by the same amount as other social assistance rates, there would be no resulting reduction in rent supplement rate.

This has been the situation in recent budgets, including last year where I increased all short-term social assistance payments, including the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, by €14 per week. Accordingly, people continued to receive their existing rent supplement without any clawback, as well as gaining fully from the significant increases in their primary social assistance payments.

In the past, where budget increases in rates of payment were granted to old age pensioners at amounts higher than that which applied to supplementary welfare allowance, a special income disregard was introduced to ensure the people concerned received the full benefit of their budget increase. The amount of income in excess of the basic supplementary welfare allowance rate that can be disregarded in the means test for rent supplement for people aged 65 or over who are in receipt of a social welfare pension or equivalent payment from another country is now €26 per household. The first €60 per week of additional income from other sources is disregarded.

I assure the Deputy that I intend to continue the arrangements to ensure customers do not lose any rent supplement entitlement by virtue of increases in their primary social welfare payments in the next budget.

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