Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to address the issue, the crux of which is the discrepancy in rent allowance and the limits in areas in the southern part of my constituency, which for all means and purposes are in the greater Dublin metropolitan area, compared with the areas just inside the Dublin border, such as Finglas, Swords, Santry etc. I will speak to the merits that the Minister tried to achieve when the new rent limits were published in June, as she sought to provide value for money for the Department of Social Protection, which is very important. She also sought to ensure people in those areas did not get priced out of the market and rent allowances were suitable for the rental market that would be used by families.

The Department used www.daft.ie as an area of information when it surmised the rent limits and I will quote some prices for an average three-bedroom semi-detached house. This example would suit a couple with three children, although it relates to all other categories as well. To rent a three-bedroom semi-detached house in Ashbourne in south Meath costs €1,100, and the cost is the same in Ratoath. In Finglas the cost to rent a similar property is €1,100 and in Swords it would cost €1,200 to rent a similar property. The allowance for families in Finglas and Swords is €950 but if a person tries to rent a house in Ashbourne or Ratoath, the allowance is only €650. Rents in the areas are exactly the same but there is a €300 discrepancy in the supplement provided. I could provide similar examples for two and one bedroom apartments, as well as cases where people rent rooms in houses. In every category there is a major discrepancy between what is available ten miles down the road in Finglas versus what is available in Ashbourne.

I understand the Department considered Meath as a county in its entirety and I appreciate that it is much cheaper to rent in Athboy, Enfield or Kells than it is in Ashbourne, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin and Ratoath. It is not the fault of people living in those towns that the metropolitan area of Dublin city has expanded not only just into the counties of Meath but also into Kildare, Louth and Wicklow. Rent supplements should be reflective of that. Although we have been beating the drum regarding rents in Meath for approximately a year, it dismays me further that rent limits in Kildare and Wicklow have been changed to reflect the fact they are part of the greater Dublin metropolitan area, and rents are higher.

I ask the Minister to reconsider taking Meath as a county in its entirety and recognise that the south corridor of the county is in the greater Dublin metropolitan area. The rents should be reflected as being equal to those commanded in the Dublin area, so rent supplement allowances should take that into account.

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