Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 360: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount the Health Service Executive paid in rent allowance in 2007 from centres (details supplied); the number of rent supplements paid to families or individuals by the centres; the number of inspections carried out by the centres prior to approving rent allowance; and the number of payments that have been withheld by the HSE at the centres as a result of a notification by Dublin City Council of non-compliance with housing standards. [9139/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The expenditure on rent supplement and number of recipients for the administrative areas, as listed by the Deputy, are shown in the following tabular statement.

Rent supplement is administered on my behalf by the Health Service Executive (HSE) as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.

In order to qualify for a rent supplement a person must satisfy a means test and be habitually resident in the State. The HSE must satisfy itself also that the applicant has a genuine accommodation need for which he or she cannot provide, that a bona fide tenancy arrangement exists between the applicant and the landlord and that the property being rented is suitable to his or her needs.

In determining whether the accommodation is suited to the person's accommodation needs, the Executive must establish the household composition, the size of the accommodation unit and identify any special needs that the person may have. As part of this process, the Executive may carry out a visit to the residential premises in question.

This home visit may also be used to confirm the applicant's residence at the address. The HSE has confirmed that it is standard practice to visit all residential premises within the area outlined by the Deputy.

The HSE may consider that a property is not suited to the applicant's needs if the accommodation does not comply with housing regulations. Enforcement of such regulations is a matter for Local Authorities rather than the Community Welfare Service of the HSE and Community Welfare Officers are not qualified to undertake this work.

Payment of rent supplement may be withheld where the HSE is notified by a housing authority regarding non-compliance with housing standards. The HSE has confirmed that no such notifications have been received in respect of rent supplement tenancies within the administrative areas identified by the Deputy. Consequently, no rent supplement payment has been withheld for this reason in the areas in question.