Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 14: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of people claiming rent supplement for more than 18 months; her views on the slow transfer of people from rent supplement onto the rental accommodation scheme; the action she has taken to address this problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23255/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently almost 88,800 tenants benefiting from a rent supplement payment - an increase of 49% since the end of 2007. Over half of these recipients have been in payment for more than one year, while over 32,000 have been in payment for 18 months or more.

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), which was introduced in 2004, gives local authorities specific responsibility for meeting the longer term housing needs of people receiving rent supplement for 18 months or more. Details of these cases are notified regularly by the Department to the local authorities. Local authorities meet the housing needs of these individuals through a range of approaches including the traditional range of social housing options, the voluntary housing sector and, in particular, RAS.

Latest figures from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DoEHLG) indicate that to date, local authorities have transferred over 10,600 rent supplement cases to RAS units. Housing authorities have also transferred a further 9,400 recipients to other social housing options, a total of over 20,000 transfers since 2005. Almost 7,000 recipients were transferred in 2008.

It is accepted that progress in relation to RAS was initially slower than expected. However the pace of delivery has improved significantly, and in 2009 a target has been set of transferring an additional 7,000 households from rent supplement.

In addition to this official target, due to the numbers of unsold affordable stock around the country, an opportunity has been created to make use of some of these properties for RAS and it is expected that additional transfers will occur in 2009 above that provided for by the 2009 target. The position regarding the availability of property is monitored on an ongoing basis, given the current market conditions, if further savings are achieved and there may be an opportunity to achieve further transfers.

The changes made in Budget 2009 to better align the minimum weekly contribution required from tenants under the rent supplement scheme with that under the RAS should also encourage more people to take up RAS offers.

The Department continues to work closely with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in ensuring that RAS meets its objective of catering for those on long term rent supplementation while enabling rent supplement to return to its original role of a short-term income support.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 15: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans in relation to restoring the Christmas bonus for welfare recipients. [23283/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if there will be a review of the decision to abolish the Christmas bonus; if she will proceed with its abolition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23143/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 28 together.

In the context of very tough decisions having to be made across the whole range of Government expenditure, the provision of €21.3 billion for social welfare services in 2009 – 20% more than the amount spent in 2008 – is a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to protecting the vulnerable and providing income support to the increasing numbers of people who are losing their jobs.

Both taxes and borrowing had to be increased in the Budget to pay for rising welfare expenditure in 2009.

Over the past decade there have been very significant increases in welfare payments with Child benefit increasing from €44 to €166 per month; State contributory pension increasing from €113 to more than €230 per week and the weekly rate of jobseeker's allowance being raised from €93 to €204 per week.

In the context of the current economic circumstances, it has been necessary for the Government to take steps to reduce overall public expenditure in order to restore order and stability in the public finances. This has involved reviewing all public expenditure programmes, including social welfare programmes, which at some €21.3 billion in 2009 form a substantial portion of overall public expenditure.

In order to avoid cutting all the weekly social welfare payment rates while trying to keep the welfare budget at a level the State can afford, it has been necessary to discontinue funding for the Christmas bonus that is usually paid to certain welfare recipients.

The payment of a 100% Christmas bonus in 2009 would cost an estimated €223 million.

In deciding on how to achieve savings of €300 million in the welfare budget, there were no easy options. Everything had to be considered – including a cut in the weekly rates of payments to all welfare recipients.

This would have meant taking money off everyone straight away – with little advance notice. It also would have involved the recall of all social welfare payment books, with the distress which that would have caused, especially for older people.

In the end, the Government felt that instead of doing this it would be fairer to give people almost nine months notice that the Christmas bonus will not be paid.

In making this decision, the Government was of course aware that it would be difficult for people but they felt that the alternative of cutting all weekly payments would have a much greater affect on households. It was not an easy decision. It was not a choice that was taken lightly. But it was felt that it was the fairest option.

Even with the Christmas bonus amounting to a 2% cut in the annual social welfare income of long-term welfare recipients, it should be remembered that the October budget provided for increases of between 3% and 3.8% in the basic payment rates. At that time inflation for 2009 was expected to be 2.5%. It is now considered that deflation is more likely in 2009, with a 4% drop in the Consumer Price Index now expected.