Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 296: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of outstanding applications for child benefit that require processing with a breakdown of this figure on a county basis; the average length of time for an application to be processed for same; if he is satisfied with this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16381/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The majority of Child Benefit awards are processed either automatically or in a partially automated fashion for children born in Ireland once their birth details are registered with the General Registrar's Office. As a result there is no backlog in these claims (for children born in Ireland) and parents are in general contacted by the Child Benefit office within two days of the registration of their child's birth. The Early Child care Supplement is paid automatically when Child Benefit is awarded. Payments on behalf of some 65,000 children were made in this way in 2007.

Currently there are arrears of claims in the Child Benefit section in respect of two groups of customers: those who have come to live in Ireland with their children and the children are resident here (children resident in Ireland); and those where a parent is working in Ireland but the children remain in their home country (children resident abroad). EU nationals who come to work in Ireland, but whose families remain in their home country may have an entitlement to Family Benefits in Ireland under EU Regulation 1408/71.

In relation to EU nationals with their children resident abroad, there are just over 20,000 claims at various stages of processing with the majority of these claims pending further necessary information and/or clarification from the authorities in the country of residence of the children i.e. before payment of Child Benefit is made for non-resident children it is necessary to contact the authorities in the country of residence (of the children) to confirm details and establish what, if any, family benefits are payable in the home country as this will determine entitlement to Irish payments. The length of time to process claims for non-resident children can vary depending on how quickly all relevant information can be obtained.

There is a total of 8,400 claims for non-Irish born children resident in Ireland on hand to be processed. These cases tend to be slower to process as the customer must satisfy the Habitual Residency condition test and this may entail contacting employers, Department of Justice and other relevant bodies to confirm their status in the state. The processing time for these claims at present is close to 9 months.

Measures are being taken to speed up processing times, including deployment of temporary staff, overtime work, and other process improvement measures. These measures will result in an improvement during the remainder of 2008. A breakdown of these claims on a county basis is not held.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 297: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if it is possible to allow rent supplement be paid to support accommodation for a person with a disability where the rental charge was above his Department's guideline in order that the family could contribute towards accommodation that would meet all the persons needs. [16408/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a rent supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.

Rent supplements are subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may incur. Setting maximum rent limits higher than are justified by the open market would have a distorting effect on the rental market, leading to a more general rise in rent levels and in landlord income. This in turn would worsen the affordability of rental accommodation unnecessarily, with particular negative impact for those tenants on lower incomes.

Notwithstanding these limits, under existing arrangements the Health Service Executive may, in certain circumstances, exceed the rent levels as an exceptional measure, for example where there are special housing needs for a disabled person in specially-adapted accommodation. This discretionary power is only used in special cases, but it ensures that individuals with particular needs can be accommodated within the scheme. Rent supplement is subject to a means test and any contributions made by family members towards an individual's accommodation costs would be treated as income for the purposes of the assessment of means.