Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 21, 27, 38, 60, 85 and 96 together.

Reducing local authority housing waiting lists is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and neither I nor my Department has any direct role in that regard. However, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, a weekly or monthly rent supplement is available to assist eligible people who are unable to meet their immediate accommodation needs through their own resources.

In recent years, a significant number of people have come to rely on rent supplements for extended periods, including people on local authority housing waiting lists. In response to this, the Government has introduced a new rental assistance arrangement giving local authorities specific responsibility for meeting, on a phased implementation basis, the longer-term housing needs of people receiving rent supplement for 18 months or more. When fully operational, local authorities will meet the housing needs of these individuals through a range of approaches, including the traditional range of social housing options, the voluntary housing sector and, in particular, a new public private partnership-type rental accommodation scheme. These arrangements are intended to comprise a long-term housing option for the people concerned. Some €19 million has been transferred from my Department's Vote for 2005 to that of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to finance this initiative and similar arrangements will apply in 2006 and succeeding years as the new arrangements are implemented.

The rental assistance arrangements will also cater for new applicants for rent supplements and people who have been receiving rent supplement for less than 18 months, as long as the local authority is satisfied they have a long-term housing need. These people will be eligible for some form of assistance from their local authority under the scheme, be it contracted rental accommodation, voluntary housing or a local authority house. Local authorities are in the process of negotiating with landlords to form a stock of contracted accommodation.

The new arrangements are being implemented in 11 local authority areas and arrangements are due to be initiated in all local authority areas by the end of 2005. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has indicated that 56 tenants have been accommodated under the rental accommodation scheme by November of this year and that a further group of up to 200 will be accommodated this December. An initial independent evaluation of the implementation process will be undertaken in 2006 and it will consider remaining issues. Some 59,677 households are in receipt of assistance under the rent supplement scheme. Over half of these, almost 33,000 tenants, have been on the scheme for 18 months or more. My Department and the Health Service Executive are actively assisting the local authorities and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in implementing the new arrangements. For example, the latter Department has been supplied with detailed information on the 33,000 people who have been on rent supplement for 18 months or more.

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