Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 441: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of tenants currently housed under the rental accommodation scheme in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40989/08]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of tenants currently housed under the rental accommodation scheme countrywide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40990/08]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 441 and 442 together.

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is designed to cater for the accommodation needs of persons in receipt of rent supplement who have a long-term housing need. As indicated in the table which follows, in the period to end-September 2008, over 15,800 households eligible for the scheme were transferred from rent supplement to accommodation provided by local authorities, either to RAS directly or to some other type of social housing. Over 3,600 of these were in the Dublin area.