Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the average length of time people are waiting on applications for rent allowance to be processed; and if he has satisfied himself in relation to this timescale. [23025/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support 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.

To qualify for rent supplement a person must satisfy a number of conditions. They must be a bona fide tenant, be habitually resident in the State, have a housing need and satisfy a means test. Also, the Health Service Executive must be satisfied that the accommodation is suited to the persons needs and the rent payable is within the prescribed limits.

Typical processing time is three working days, but it can take longer in some instances. The timescale for determining applications for rent supplement in individual cases is dependant, among other things, on the availability of the required information, such as details of the applicant's income, bank statements, information from landlords etc. In addition, some aspects of the application are inevitably time consuming and delays can occur where investigations such as home visits or third party evidence are required. Delays can also arise if the applicant is slow to respond to requests for additional information.

The provision of a prompt service is a major objective of the Executive. However this has to be achieved in a manner that is consistent with the demands of natural justice and the need to ensure that every case is fully investigated. While certain cases may take more time to process than others, overall, I am satisfied that the Executive makes every effort to decide rent supplement claims in an efficient, effective and timely manner.