Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 816: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the statutory basis, with details of the section, subsection, regulation or article, for the rule under the mortgage interest supplement scheme that allows a community welfare officer to refuse mortgage interest supplement on the basis that the applicant's spouse works more than 30 hours a week; and if she will provide the same information in respect of the way this 30 hours is calculated and the way it allows the community welfare officer to calculate it counting lunch breaks. [12216/09]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 817: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if it is open to a person who has been refused mortgage interest supplement on the basis that their spouse works more than 30 hours a week to qualify if the spouse subsequently drops their hours to less than 30. [12217/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 816 and 817 together.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive.

Mortgage interest supplement provides short-term support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only.

Section 198(6) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 provides that a person shall not be entitled to a mortgage interest supplement where that person or his or her spouse is engaged in remunerative full-time work. Article (6)(3) of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 (S. I. 412 of 2007) provides "a person shall be regarded as being engaged in remunerative full-time work where he or she is so engaged for not less than 30 hours per week."

Hours of work are generally calculated by reference to the contract of employment and/or confirmation from an employer as to the number of hours for which a person is contracted to work.

Under Section 196(2) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, where a person and his/her spouse are members of the same household, "their needs and means shall be aggregated and shall be regarded as the means and needs of the claimant." In these circumstances, the income of an applicant for mortgage interest supplement and his or her spouse is taken into account when assessing means. In addition, in calculating the weekly means of a person for entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance, including mortgage interest supplement, Rule 4 of Part 4 of Schedule 3 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that account shall be taken of "all income and the value of all property of which the person has directly or indirectly deprived himself or herself in order to qualify himself or herself for the receipt of supplementary welfare allowance."

Each application for mortgage interest supplement is determined by a community welfare officer taking account of the relevant legislative provisions and on the basis of the merits of each individual case.

In view of the current economic environment, the Department has commenced a review of the administration of the mortgage interest supplement scheme. The main purpose of the review is to consider how the mortgage interest supplement scheme can best meet its objective of catering for those who require assistance on a short-term basis, where they are unable to meet mortgage interest repayments on their sole place of residence. Legislative and operational issues arising in the existing mortgage interest scheme, including the cap on hours of employment, are also being examined.