John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

80. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she has taken to mitigate the shortcomings in the rent supplement section; her views that particularly in County Waterford the revised monthly rental limits are decidedly below the average rents being charged by landlords and that rents in the area are on the increase; her further views that more landlords are refusing to accept tenants who indicate that they will be making an application for rent supplement due to the massive delays in processing these applications; her views that this is resulting in more families finding it impossible to source adequate accommodation within the monthly rental limits and find themselves verging on homelessness as a result; if she will make a commitment to increase the staffing levels in the rent supplement section in Waterford to address the serious backlog which now exists; if she will review the process by which an applicant already in receipt of rent supplement wishes to change address and reapply for assistance, as it would reduce processing times if any supplementary application could be processed on the basis of a reassessment of the new property and not a full reassessment of the person where the applicant may confirm that their circumstances aside from address have not altered; if she will review both the monthly rental limits in the County Waterford area and also the process by which the applications are assessed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40164/14]

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