Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

That is being worked on at the moment. It is really a matter for the local authorities. The Department of Social Protection makes rent supplement payments and allows tenants to source properties. We are not directly engaged in the property market. That is why I reminded Deputy Fleming of our clear policy preference, which is for the rent supplement scheme ultimately to be transferred to local authorities. In 2000, approximately 42,000 people were receiving rent supplement payments, at an annual cost of €150 million. At present, approximately 93,000 people are receiving rent supplement payments, at an annual cost of €433 million or just under €0.5 billion. It is clear that we are spending a vast amount of taxpayers' money on resourcing the rent supplement scheme. I would prefer us to reach an holistic solution, whereby local authority housing departments become much more heavily involved than at present in finding solutions for people who are looking for accommodation. Although the rental accommodation scheme has been in existence for a considerable period, we are nowhere near having the amount of people that I would like on that scheme in different areas. I would also prefer if people who are in a local authority tenancy arrangement of some kind were not inhibited from taking up employment, as they are in the case of the rent supplement scheme. If such a person in the Dublin area who has a spouse and children takes up employment, he or she runs the risk of losing up to €1,000 a month in rent supplement. It is very hard to get one's foot into the employment market if one is facing such an immediate loss.

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