Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in receipt of the rent supplement who have children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22903/05]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons receiving the rent supplement for 18 months or more who have been passed on to a local authority for a housing assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22901/05]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who were in receipt of the rent supplement for 18 months or more who were passed on to the local authority for a housing assessment and who have had their housing needs met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22902/05]

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the progress which has been made on the long-term initiative for rent supplement tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22899/05]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the arrangements being put in place to guarantee funding to local authorities which secure long leases on rental properties beyond the three-year transition programme of the RAS scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22934/05]

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 72: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who have been availing of the rent supplement for 18 months or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22900/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 59, 60, 68, 71 and 72 together.

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 meet their immediate accommodation needs through their own resources. As of 24 June last, there were 58,015 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.

The scheme involves payment in respect of the household in aggregate, without specific additions for adult or child dependants. For this reason, the computer systems used to record rent supplement claims and generate payments does not contain family composition data and, as a result, a detailed breakdown of cases where there are children involved is not readily available. However, my Department has carried out a sample survey of claims which indicates that almost 30,000 rent supplement households have children. There are more than 50,000 children living in households where rent supplement is in payment.

A significant number of people had come to rely on rent supplements on a long-term basis over recent years. The Government announced a new initiative in July 2004 aimed at meeting the long-term housing needs of these people. The new system gives local authorities responsibility for meeting long-term housing assistance needs, including the needs of those people on rent supplements for 18 months or longer. These needs will be met through a range of approaches, including the traditional range of social housing options, the voluntary housing sector and, in particular, a new public private partnership type rental accommodation scheme. A total of €19 million has been transferred from my Department's Vote to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Vote this year to help finance this initiative.

The amount to be transferred in 2006-08 will be considered in the light of the emerging experience of this year's implementation. The amount to be transferred in any one year will depend on the rate at which people move to the new housing arrangements. In overall terms the amount to be transferred will certainly exceed €120 million in aggregate when the new arrangements are fully operational. The funding of the rental accommodation scheme after the three year transition period will be a matter for my colleagues, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Finance.

The new arrangements are currently being implemented in seven local authorities. These are Dublin, Galway and Limerick City Councils and South Dublin County Council, which encompass the most extensive urban areas in the State, Drogheda Town Council, Donegal County Council and counties Offaly and Westmeath. The new arrangements will be initiated in all local authority areas by the end of 2005.

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has appointed programme managers to assist the seven lead authorities with the implementation of the new arrangements. Thereafter, these managers will be available to support other authorities over the implementation period. Implementation groups in the seven areas have been established to ensure effective ongoing liaison and co-operation locally between housing authorities, Health Service Executive areas and other agencies.

The Department has indicated that the lead local authorities are on target to transfer the first eligible rent supplement recipients to the rental accommodation scheme within the next few weeks. The aim of the new system is to minimise ongoing dependence on rent supplement by progressing to a situation where suitable long-term accommodation is available for all who need it. The rent supplement scheme will continue to provide support to those who have short-term housing needs.

This will be achieved within a period of three years from commencement of the new arrangements in each local authority and in any event no later than September 2008. The scheme will involve structured arrangements to secure long-term availability of privately rented accommodation, particularly accommodation currently occupied by tenants in receipt of rent supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, and to encourage the supply of additional accommodation.

Overall, the new rental assistance arrangements represent a major step forward in supporting people with long-term housing needs. All of the relevant agencies are co-operating actively to make the system work successfully. The supplementary welfare allowance rent supplement scheme continues to be available to provide short-term income support for people who are unable to meet their immediate accommodation needs.