Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 424: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason the southern branch of the Health Service Executive reduced the rent subsidy awarded to a person (details supplied) in County Cork from €150 to €135 per week despite the fact that the circumstances had not changed. [19088/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The southern area of the executive has advised that the person concerned had never been in receipt of rent supplement of €150 a week but had been paid a weekly supplement of €137.50 until January 2005. In the course of a routine review of the case in October 2004 which was delayed awaiting receipt of financial circumstances it emerged that this rate of payment had been incorrectly calculated by the then health board and that the appropriate amount of rent supplement payable to the person concerned should have been €134.50 per week. This revised rate was paid by the executive with effect from January 2005. The Department is not seeking repayment of the overpaid amount.

Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 425: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the Health Service Executive will increase the rent subsidy for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12. [19449/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The Dublin and mid-Leinster area of the executive has advised that, based on current financial circumstances, the person concerned is in receipt of the appropriate rate of rent supplement payable for the family circumstances in question. However, the person may not be receiving the full entitlement under my Department's one-parent family scheme. Half of any maintenance a lone parent receives may be disregarded as means for the purposes of assessing his or her entitlement to one-parent family payment. The means test for this and certain other social assistance schemes also provides for a disregard of up to €95.23 per week of maintenance payments in instances where applicants have rent or mortgage obligations on their family homes.

The one-parent family section of my Department was unaware of the recent change in the domestic circumstances of the person concerned. Consequently, a reduced rate of one-parent family payment is currently being paid because the person's maintenance payments are being assessed in a manner which does not take account of current accommodation costs.

In view of the circumstances in this particular case, I am arranging for a social welfare inspector to visit the person in question in order that the situation can be assessed. The OFP payment will be reviewed in the light of the inspector's report. When the review of the one-parent family payment has been completed the person concerned should contact the community welfare officer at the local health centre in order that the appropriate revised level of rent supplement may be determined.