Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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3. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm that adequate budgeting has been transferred away or is planned to be transferred away from her Department to accommodate the forthcoming transfer of the new housing assistance payment scheme; if adequate precautions have been taken to ensure a smooth staffing transfer; if she will detail these precautions; if rent caps under the new housing assistance payment scheme will be adjusted or modified in advance of the transfer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26010/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support for eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have access to accommodation from any other source. There are approximately 86,000 recipients of rent supplement, of whom approximately 54,000 have been in receipt of the supplement for over 18 months. The Government has provided over €403 million for the scheme in 2013. This approval was based on details of the scheme being developed further and implementation being informed by an economic assessment.

In March 2012 the Government approved in principle the transfer of responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to persons with a long-term housing need from my Department to housing authorities using a new housing assistance payment, HAP. This approval was based on details of the scheme being developed further and implementation being informed by an economic assessment. Officials in my Department are working closely with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to assist with the necessary work required to initiate HAP including the completion of the economic assessment. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has advised that it plans to carry out a detailed business planning exercise which will further inform the Government as to the level of resources required. Details of the necessary budget required for HAP, including that which will be transferred from my Department, will be identified following the completion of these exercises.

There are no plans to transfer staff from my Department to housing authorities in order to administer the scheme and policy on differential rents under HAP is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Each local authority operates differential rent schemes and different IT systems. This is one of the issues that must be addressed if we are to have a smooth transfer.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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I am standing in for Deputy Catherine Murphy. I take it that the timing of the transfer has not been decided, given that the business plan is still being prepared by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Would the Minister be amenable to the transfer of staff? This will place a larger administrative burden on local authorities, which are already suffering disproportionately from the recruitment embargo. Does she envisage that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will permit differential caps within and across counties?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The most recent social welfare legislation amended the Social Welfare Acts to provide for a mandatory capacity in respect of allowing people offered new tenancies or places on the RAS to sign on to the household budgeting system operated through post offices because local authorities want to be assured they will receive rent contributions from tenants. I understand local authorities around the country have different levels of accumulated arrears from various types of tenants. This is an issue for local authorities. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is interested in having my Department introduce a provision to deduct rents at source on behalf of local authorities but that would require considerable modification of our IT systems. I am open to the suggestion but, given that 66 separate differential rent schemes and at least the same number of IT systems are in place, the introduction of a deduction scheme via social welfare benefits would require significant streamlining in the way rents are charged. That is a major project but the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is currently preparing a business case for it.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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In regard to staffing resources, is the Department of Social Protection concerned about whether local authorities have the capacity to manage the rent supplement scheme?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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We have not had any discussions in this regard. We have already taken on a significant amount of additional work, including community welfare officers from the HSE and employment staff from FÁS, but we have also taken responsibility for driving the pathways to work process, which essentially involves a complete transformation of my Department. People who come to social welfare offices are not only getting income supports but are also being helped back to work through a wide variety of schemes, such as community employment, Tús and the rural social scheme. If I am honest, I must acknowledge that the staff of my Department have their hands full but we are prepared to co-operate in respect of expertise and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is interested in having us facilitate its work, perhaps in a couple of years' time, on rental arrangements that may assist with staffing issues.