Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 383: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of landlords of Irish properties in 2006 and 2007 who were living outside Ireland and receiving payments for rent supplement; and the total amount paid to them in each of these years. [5273/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Rent supplement is administered on my behalf by the Health Service Executive (HSE), as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The purpose of the rent supplement 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. The tenant makes the application for payment and the rent supplement payment is made to the tenant in most cases.

The following table shows the value of rent supplement payments made to tenants whose landlords live outside the state represents no more than 1% of total expenditure on rent supplement in 2006 and 2007. The value of rent supplement payments nominated by tenants to be paid directly to landlords living abroad, represents about one quarter of 1% of all rent supplement payments. The Department has given details of landlords living outside the state to the Revenue Commissioners, where rent payments were made directly to these landlords in 2006. This information should facilitate the Revenue Commissioners in pursuing relevant enquiries as to the tax compliance position of the landlords in question. Details for 2007 will be provided to the Revenue Commissioners in due course as part of the Department's annual provision of information to the revenue commissioners.