Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of people who are claiming reduced rent supplement under the terms of SWA Circular 8 of 2000; the number in years one, two, three and four; the steps which are being taken to ensure that all those eligible are aware of the provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17385/06]

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in receipt of rent supplement in respect of each of the past five years; the amount paid out in rent supplements; the number of landlords to whom rent supplement was paid; the average annual payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17371/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 41 together.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support, in the form of a weekly or monthly payment, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims.

My Department is very conscious of the need to facilitate persons in receipt of social welfare payments to take up employment opportunities and to ensure that the social welfare supports are structured to support this objective.

In this regard, where a person in receipt of rent supplement wishes to take up employment, advice is provided by the 700 community welfare officers who administer the scheme from over 1,000 different locations throughout the country as to the likely impact this employment will have on a person's rent supplement.

Under existing legislation, supplementary welfare allowance is not normally payable to people in full time employment. However, special arrangements, outlined in Circular 08/00, are in place which allow individuals who have been unemployed for 12 months or more and who move from a welfare payment to a full-time job, to retain their rent supplement on a tapered basis for up to 4 years i.e. 75% in year 1, 50% in year 2 and 25% in years 3 and 4. This retention is subject to a weekly household income limit of EUR317.43. Back to work allowance and family income supplement, in cases where one or both of these are in payment, are disregarded in the assessment of the EUR317.43 weekly income limit. PRSI contributions and reasonable travelling expenses are also disregarded in the means test. My Department does not maintain a record of the number of individuals who have availed or are currently availing of this arrangement.

Under the rent supplement scheme there is no direct relationship between the State and the landlord. Entitlement is based on the tenant's income support needs with payment generally made directly to the tenant. Accordingly my Department does not keep a record of the number of individual landlords who benefit indirectly under the scheme.

The number of tenants benefiting under the scheme has increased from 45,028 in 2001 to 60,176 at the end of 2005 with expenditure increasing from EUR179m in 2001 to almost EUR369m in 2005. At 28 April 2006, there were 60,526 in receipt of a payment.

During the same period, the average weekly payment increased from EUR80.30 in 2001 to EUR101.77 in 2005 and average monthly payments increased from EUR495.30 in 2001 to EUR768.47 in 2005. At December 2005, 71% of rent supplement payments were weekly. The following tabular statement shows details of the number of recipients, the annual expenditure and average weekly and monthly payments for each of the years 2001 to 2005 for information.