Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The Deputy's question stems from a newspaper article in The Mirroron the percentages. We do not set rent allowances on the basis of what appears in The Mirror, even though it is a reputable newspaper. We have different caps across the State reflecting the market. For example, there are two different caps in County Wicklow depending on how close one is to the city. The largest differential within the question the Deputy asked was in the Wicklow area.

As I have noted to the Deputy previously, €344 million was spent on rent supplement last year. We are currently carrying out a review on the cap, which should be completed shortly. In the meantime, I want to ensure that there is a flexibility right across the market operated by community welfare officers who will look at market conditions in particular areas. However, I want cognisance to be taken also of the need to avoid allowing rents to inflate throughout the country on foot of any increase in the caps, as has happened before. There are many low-income families and students within the Dublin area who could be priced out of the market if the caps were lifted. Certainly, the caps within social welfare set the bottom of the market. All landlords look at what the Department of Social Protection caps are and build their rents on top of that. It is not surprising as the Department takes approximately one third of all rental units across the State and we must be careful not to create rent inflation.

That is why I am communicating regularly with the regions and community welfare officers to ensure that they take local circumstances into consideration. In many ways, they are the very ones who are best placed to do that and to work with people on an individual basis. Not only is there a problem in relation to rental income, but it is another element of helping people to get back into the workforce.

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