Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way she proposes to comply with the provisions of the Finance Act, 2007 in relation to the collection and transfer of landlord PPS numbers who are in receipt of rent supplement to the Revenue Commissioners. [18603/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if in view of the failure of her Department to withhold approximately €200,000 per year in tax from non-resident landlords to whom her Department pays rent supplements directly, she will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of introducing a paper-based system to collect this tax; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18620/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 120 together.

Rent Supplement is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible tenants 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. Rent Supplement is the property of the tenant in all cases.

The Department is committed to effective co-operation with the Revenue Commissioners and in this regard, details of rent supplemented tenancies have for many years been supplied to the Revenue Commissioners, in a format agreed with them. Details are also supplied in respect of rent supplement paid directly to non-resident landlords. The Revenue Commissioners have indicated that they have had significant success in matching landlords of rent supplemented tenancies with their database of clients.

The Finance Act 2007 obliges the department to collect and supply the Revenue Commissioners with landlord PPS or other tax reference number. Computer systems and new administrative arrangements are being developed to collect and record landlord PPS/tax reference numbers to transfer this data to Revenue in an electronic format by the end of the year. The approach being taken is not merely to provide the reference numbers but to associate details of rent supplement payments with those data.

Although the department does not have a facility to withhold tax from rent supplement paid directly to non-resident landlords, full details of such landlords are provided to the Revenue Commissioners for the purpose of allowing enquiries to be made as to tax compliance. The Minister for Finance has asked his officials and the Revenue Commissioners to review the requirement to deduct withholding tax from rent payments made to non-resident landlords. My Department is awaiting the outcome of this review and does not propose to change the current arrangements in the meantime.