John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this issue. She is unable to be in the Chamber this afternoon.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The overall aim is to provide short-term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. Approximately 85,000 people receive rent supplement for whom the Government has provided more than €403 million in 2013.

Revised rent limits under the rent supplement scheme came into force with effect from Monday, 17 June 2013 and will be in place until 31 December 2014. The new rent limits have been determined following an extensive review of the private rental market based on the most up-to-date data available. This review continues the emphasis of previous rent limit reviews to ensure value for money is achieved while at the same time ensuring people on rent supplement are not priced out of the market for private rented accommodation. The Department funds approximately 30% of the private rented sector so it is essential that rent limits are kept under review. The new rent limits have been set using the 35th percentile ensuring sufficient housing is available for recipients of the scheme.

The Department has completed a full review of rental costs throughout the country using data received from the Private Residential Tenancies Board of actual rental tenancies registered with it. The Department also used publicly available data sources, including the Central Statistics Office rental indices, the www.daft.ie rental report and leading websites advertising rental properties to ascertain the market trends and the current asking prices for rental of one, two and three bedroom properties. The overall findings of the review are in line with market trends. There have been increases in the maximum rent limits in Dublin and Galway while there have been some reductions in a number of rural counties, reflecting the conditions in the rental markets there. The overall cost of this measure for 2013 is approximately €7 million which can be met from within the existing provision for the scheme.

The Department is satisfied the new rent limits provide access to accommodation for persons claiming rent supplement. Departmental officials will continue to monitor the impact of the revised rates and those administering the scheme will continue to ensure the accommodation needs of rent supplement recipients are met.

See this speech in context