Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Some 70,000 people are in receipt of rent supplement at present and the number is increasing. The scheme relating to rent supplement gives people flexibility in the context of being able to move home. It also assists people who do not have access to accommodation or who do not have the means to pay for such accommodation.

There is no doubt that in the past some rented accommodation was of questionable quality. The change in the economic climate has led to much more, and better quality, accommodation being available for rent. The latter can only be to the benefit of tenants. When one considers that the State will pay out €436 million of taxpayers' money in respect of rented accommodation this year and substantially more next year, it is important that such money be directed at the people who require it most. We must also ensure that these individuals will be in a position to access good quality accommodation.

Unfortunately, many people are probably going to apply for rent supplement as a result of the rise in the number of house repossessions. These individuals will probably begin by claiming mortgage interest supplement. If their houses are repossessed, they will then seek rent supplement and will finally end up on the local authority housing lists. A strong message should be sent to the financial institutions that foreclosing on people's mortgages is extremely short-sighted, particularly as this will give rise to untold difficulties for everyone involved and for society in general. If these institutions delay taking precipitative action for a couple of years, it could be of assistance to the families to which I refer. We try to be sympathetic to people who are in receipt of rent supplement.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch referred to community welfare officers. As she is aware, these individuals are employed by the Health Service Executive but they administer money on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. This is another reason to proceed with the integration of community welfare officers into the Department. We anticipate this will occur in the first half of next year and, as a result, we will have greater flexibility within our own staffing arrangements. We have been given sanction to employ an additional 115 people in the Department in order to deal with the difficulties experienced by and increased pressure on our offices. I will keep the matter under review when the new staff resources are put in place.

Various Members referred to issues relating to the registration of tenancies. All landlords are required by law to register tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board. However, they are only required to register when there is a tenant in place. They are not required to register when they possess a building in which there are no tenants. Landlords have a month within which they must register. We do not want to penalise a tenant who may be moving into a property in which there may not have been any tenants in the past and in respect of which there would have been no legal requirement to register a tenancy. We notify the PRTB when tenancies are created in order that it can follow matters up with the relevant landlords in order to ensure that the proper registration takes place. We pass on to the PRTB the relevant information relating to all new claimants. It is important that the board follow up on the information we provide.

The contract we have is with the tenant. All the legal advice indicates that it is not with the landlord etc., even though many people request that their payment go directly to their landlords. Questions arise with regard to the type of accommodation tenants seek to rent and Deputies will be aware that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has introduced new regulations designed to get rid of bed-sits in the next couple of years. The latter is an important development.

The extension of the rental accommodation scheme means that more people will qualify. The scheme is operating well in all local authority areas throughout the country. The availability of social and affordable housing within local authority areas will also be of assistance in the context of alleviating pressure.

Deputy Finian McGrath was correct to refer to anti-social behaviour and the issues relating thereto. There have been a number of public incidences of such behaviour in recent months. There should be an obligation on tenants who are in receipt of State payments to ensure that they adhere to basic social norms. It had been my intention to include in the Bill a provision to ensure that tenants in receipt of rent supplement would not engage in anti-social behaviour. However, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is working on the same issue in the context of the housing Bill and intends to draft guidelines on how to deal with such behaviour. When those guidelines are put in place, we will be able to apply them in respect of those in receipt of rent supplement.

I do not propose to accept the amendment because we supply the information to which it relates in any event. Our contract is with the tenant and the PRTB is obliged to follow up on matters relating to registration. The scheme is under continual review. We are aware of the pressures that will come into play. We must honour our contracts with tenants and try to support them in the flexible manner required. Our main aim is to ensure that these people do not remain too long on rent supplement. The scheme was never intended to be of a long-term nature.

Deputy Enright referred to the number of hours people are allowed to work. If one is in receipt of the supplement, one is not meant to be in full-time employment. That is fine because the scheme is designed to support those who are dependent on social welfare payments. However, when people on long-term rent supplement are deemed eligible for the rental accommodation scheme, they can engage in full-time employment. That is an important distinction. They can take up such employment and can then obtain entry to the local authority scheme, which provides them with better prospects, more hope, greater flexibility and, eventually, better housing.

The scheme must be kept under review. In recent months the accommodation has been improving and the rents relating to it have been falling. However, tenants must ensure that they do not pay over and above what they receive in the form of rent supplement because this only feeds the market.

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