Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There are currently approximately 81,000 persons in receipt of rent supplement for which the Government has provided €403 million in 2013. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term 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.

Revised rent limits under the rent supplement scheme have come 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. The Department currently funds approximately 30% of the private rented sector so it is essential that the rent limits are kept under review. The new rent limits have been set using the 35th percentile, ensuring that sufficient housing is available for recipients of the scheme.

There have been increases in the maximum rent limits in Dublin and there have been some reductions across a number of counties, including some categories in County Meath, reflecting the conditions in the rental markets in those counties.

Special provisions are made in exceptional circumstances, including, for example, people with disabilities in specially adapted accommodation or homeless persons. The overall cost of the rent limit review and the changes we have made for 2013 is an extra €7 million, which can be met from within the existing provision for the scheme.

There are currently 1,981 rent supplement recipients in County Meath, of whom almost 200 are in the Ashbourne and Ratoath areas. In arriving at the appropriate rent limits for County Meath, rent levels in the major population centres in the county were tested. Analysis shows that there are properties available within the maximum rent limits for rent supplement recipients in County Meath. However, the number of rental properties available in the specific locations referred to by the Deputy is significantly lower than the numbers available in the rest of the county, and this has an impact on the cost of the accommodation units available for rent. A search conducted on a leading property website shows that there are a total of 15 one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom properties available for rent in the Ratoath and Ashbourne areas. It must be stressed, however, that the purpose of the rent limit review was to ensure the availability of accommodation for rent supplement tenancies and not to provide rent supplement tenants with access to all housing in all areas. The Department will continue to monitor rent levels throughout the country.

The Department's strategic policy direction is to restore rent supplement to its original purpose of a short-term income support - for instance, for people who have lost their jobs. It is a temporary measure. In July 2013 the Government approved the introduction of the housing assistance payment, HAP. Under HAP, responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities. Officials of the Department of Social Protection are working with officials in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, who are properly leading the project. It is the job of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the local authorities to provide appropriate accommodation. They are developing proposals to give effect to the transfer to local authorities as set out by the Government. The Department is advised that following the enactment of the relevant legislation, the HAP test phase will be carried out in the selected local authorities during 2014.

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