Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount which was awarded in rent assistance by his Department, and the number of families or persons awarded rent assistance, on a county basis for the years 2003 and 2004. [16950/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. It provides for the payment of a weekly or monthly rent or mortgage interest supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available from any other source.

As of 13 May last, there were 58,308 households in receipt of assistance under the rent supplement scheme. Just over half of these, almost 30,000 tenants, have been on the scheme for 18 months or more. Expenditure on rent supplements was almost €332 million in 2003 and just under €354 million in 2004. I have provided €369 million in this year's Estimates for this scheme.

I propose to include a tabular statement in the Official Report today setting out the number of household recipients of rent supplement for the years 2003 and 2004 on a county by county basis, as the Deputy requested. In that table, I have also summarised expenditure on the scheme for the years 2003 and 2004 for each of the former health board areas. Expenditure information is not maintained by my Department on a county by county basis.