Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 933: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will respond to correspondence from a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48057/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent and mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Entitlement to rent and mortgage interest supplement is determined on the basis of the circumstances of each individual case including accommodation/mortgage costs and the income of the applicant. Payment of a supplement is calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent/mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum weekly contribution which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources. When last set in 2004, the minimum contribution represented approximately 10% of the minimum social welfare weekly payment rate. While social welfare payments have risen by nearly €70 per week since then, no upward adjustment was made to the minimum contribution.

As part of Budget 2009, the minimum contribution has been increased from €13 to €18 a week from January 2009. This contribution represents 8.8% of the basic social welfare weekly payment. While the new rate of €18 will reduce the differential between the contribution which rent and mortgage interest supplement recipients pay and the contribution payable under the local authority differential rent scheme, it is still significantly less than the minimum rent paid by many local authority tenants i.e. €24.87 in Dublin city and €26 in Limerick county.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 934: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will support a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9. [48075/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the Department by the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The Executive must satisfy itself that a bona fide tenancy exists in respect of a property for which a rent supplement is paid. In this regard the first step in verifying the tenancy is the completion of the appropriate application forms on which the applicant supplies details of the household composition and means and the landlord must confirm details relating to the address, type of accommodation, tenancy arrangements and the amount of rent. The Executive has advised that it is unable to process an application for rent supplement from the person concerned as the landlord has not confirmed details of the tenancy on the relevant application form.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 935: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount spent on rent supplement in 2006, 2007 and 2008 broken down by quarter; and the amount allocated in budget 2009 for rent supplement payments in 2009. [1030/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The following is a tabular statement showing the expenditure on rent supplement at quarterly intervals from 2006 to 2008. Provision has been made for expenditure of €461.6m on rent supplement in 2009.