Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 432: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason persons in receipt of single parent allowance employed on community employment schemes for twenty hours or less are having their rent subsidy payments deducted; his plans to change this practice; the means such applicants have to re-enter the workforce if they immediately loose their rent subsidy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6124/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 433: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare on a community employment scheme has been informed that due to the fact that they are on the scheme their rent is being deducted; his plans to assist such single parents to get back into the workforce and overcome the problem persons are having in regard to rent subsidy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6125/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 432 and 433 together.

Social welfare programmes aim to be responsive to the needs of those who depend on income maintenance support while providing incentives to assist people to become more independent financially, particularly through employment.

Lone Parents and others on rent supplement who participate in community employment (CE) schemes are financially better off for doing so. Up to €75 of weekly earnings is disregarded in the rent supplement means test to ensure that a person gains financially as a result of taking up a CE place, part-time employment or other such opportunities. Additional allowances with the CE payment are also disregarded.

The Health Service Executive was contacted concerning the case raised by the Deputy and has advised it is satisfied that the person concerned is receiving her full entitlement to rent supplement based on her current income from participation on a Community Employment scheme and her one-parent family payment. However, the one-parent family payment does not take account of her earnings from participation on community employment and now falls to be reviewed in the light of her new circumstances. In the light of any reduction to her one parent family payment arising from the review, it will be in the interest of the person concerned to have her rent supplement again reviewed by the Executive to ensure that she continues to be €75 per week better off for having taken up a CE place.

I am conscious of the need to ensure that people on social welfare payments have an incentive to take up employment to improve their situation and I am anxious to take any possible measures to facilitate this. In Budget 2007, I provided for additional welfare to work measures including an increase in weekly earnings disregard. I also introduced an additional measure which will allow existing rent supplement tenants awaiting accommodation under the Rental Accommodation Scheme to take up full-time employment and remain eligible for rent supplement subject to the standard means test. These measures are provided for in the recently published Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2007.