David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will reassess a rent allowance application for a person (details supplied) in County Cork in view of the fact that they are living independently of the other person who is sharing the property; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32797/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme (SWA), which includes rent supplement, is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive. Payment of the basic rate of SWA is designed to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes and have no other income available to them.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from another source.

The Executive has advised that an application for a payment of SWA from the person concerned was refused as the total household income was deemed to be in excess of the relevant SWA rate for a couple. Under social welfare legislation, the means of a couple i.e. a husband and wife or a couple cohabiting as husband and wife, are aggregated and regarded as the means of the applicant. The applicant was deemed to be one of a couple for the purposes of her SWA claim. Her application for rent supplement was refused as her partner is in full time employment. Under the relevant legislative provisions, rent supplement is not payable where the claimant or their spouse/partner is engaged in full-time employment, defined as more than 29 hours a week.

Both decisions were appealed to a Health Service Executive Appeals Officer but the appeal was unsuccessful. The Executive has further advised that the person concerned has appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. No decision has been made on this appeal to date.