Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 100 together.

Under the rental accommodation scheme, or RAS, local authorities are providing accommodation for certain recipients of SWA rent supplement who have been assessed as having a long-term housing need. The RAS is an additional housing option and eligible persons can indicate their preference to be accommodated by local authorities under the RAS or social housing, or to be considered under both.

The initial project to transfer rent supplement recipients of 18 months or more continuous duration is due to be completed by the end of 2008. The implementation of the RAS is a collaborative project between my Department, local authorities, the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive. Roll-out commenced in an initial group of lead authorities, namely Dublin, Galway and Limerick city councils, South Dublin, Donegal, Offaly, Westmeath county councils and Drogheda Borough Council. In addition, South Tipperary, Fingal, Louth, Kilkenny, Monaghan, Wexford, Wicklow and Leitrim county councils and Waterford and Cork city councils are now implementing RAS. These authorities collectively cover 79% of the transferable cases.

The total cost of the scheme to date is €1.73 million of which €842,000 has been spent in the current year. There is a budget of €19 million to support the implementation of the scheme in 2006.

More than 1,000 cases have been transferred to RAS since the initial transfers in September 2005. A further 340 households in the target group for the RAS have been provided with local authority housing. The target is to have 5,000 cases transferred to the RAS by the end of the year. A further 5,000 prospective RAS households have had their cases reviewed. Work is ongoing on interviewing tenants, the inspection of properties and meeting and negotiating with accommodation providers.

Implementation of the scheme will accelerate as local authorities procure new accommodation through the development of new public private partnership or PPP arrangements. The procurement process for PPP projects to deliver some 100 units of accommodation on long-term lease-type arrangements has commenced, with three local authorities having issued procurement notices.

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