Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raise this issue because the second change to the rent supplement ceiling in less than six months is having a huge effect. The cuts in January caused problems and the most recent cuts have created further problems and made the situation much worse. In my constituency of Laoighis-Offaly the rent limits have been reduced to well below the rental rates in the private market. Many tenants are going short of food two or three days a week to pay rent, and I am sure it is the same in the Minister of State's constituency. They do not turn on the heating in the winter months.

The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, must know what is going on. Landlords simply will not rent accommodation to tenants at less than the limit set by the Government, and experience shows this. Tenants on the lowest income in the State, namely, supplementary welfare allowance, jobseeker's allowance and disability benefit, not only pay the tenant's minimum contribution of €35 to €50 from their income, which is sometimes less than €188 per week, but they also pay the difference between the Department limit and the actual rent charged. There are many examples of this in the constituency of Laoighis-Offaly and throughout the country.

The new maximum rent limits in Laois and Offaly have no connection with what is being charged in the marketplace. According to the new rates, a single person is supposed to be able to rent for just over €70 per week or €340 per month, a couple is supposed to be able to rent for €350, and a family of four is supposed to be able to rent for €480. I cannot find one property in the area in which I live for a family of four for €480 or for a single person for €340. In Offaly the limit is €360 for a single person, €450 for a couple with one child and €475 for a family of four. The figure of €475 is €5 less than in Laois and has been reduced by €65. I checked with local estate agents before coming to the Chamber to ensure I know what I am talking about. If the Minister is able to find such properties, I ask her to come to the Chamber and tell me. This is unrealistic and is causing hardship.

Rent allowance is supposed to be a temporary short-term measure to tide people over until they either buy their own house, which they cannot do because they cannot obtain mortgages, or get local authority housing, which they cannot do either because local authority housing is not available. It has become a long-term measure and people are trapped in awful poverty. As the Citizen Information Centres and any Deputy or local authority member will tell the Minister of State, the tenants are making up the difference. Along with the minimum contribution, they also pay the excess between the limits the Government has set and what is charged in the marketplace. This needs to be addressed and I appeal to the Minister of State not to give me a Civil Service answer. I want him to address this issue in order that those on the lowest incomes in the State have some hope of having a basic standard of living.

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