Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

Some 59,000 households are in receipt of rent supplement. In July 2004 the Government introduced the new rental assistance arrangements. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has indicated that, at the end of January, over 3,000 tenants had been accommodated under the RAS and a further 2,300 persons in social housing. When implemented fully, the RAS will enable the rent supplement scheme to revert to its original objective, that is, to serve as a short-term income support scheme. It is projected that by the end of this year up to 10,000 tenants will have transferred from rent supplement-related accommodation to accommodation provided by local authorities, either through the RAS or some other social housing initiative. The scheme is progressing. As the Deputy knows, it applies to those who were on the list for rent supplement.

The overall target is to accommodate, by the end of 2008, in excess of 30,000 tenants who have been in receipt of rent supplement for 18 months or more. To finance this, €19 million was transferred from the Department's Vote to that of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in 2005. A further €19 million was transferred for 2006 and a further €24 million was provided for this year. Similar arrangements will apply in the coming years as the new arrangements are implemented.

Of the 59,000 households in receipt of rent supplement, 32,000 are eligible for assistance under the new rental arrangements. The scheme got off to a slow start but is now working right across the country. Over 3,000 were accommodated under the scheme by the end of January. The target for the end of the year is 10,000.

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