Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 372: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the rental accommodation scheme has been evaluated externally; if not, his plans to do same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35269/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 373: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason for the delay in transfer for people in receipt of rent supplement to the rental accommodation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35270/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 374: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way the rental accommodation scheme is funded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35271/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 375: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the cost of the rental accommodation scheme to date, including the costs to administer the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35272/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 376: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the estimated savings expected to be generated from a transfer from rent supplement to a rental accommodation scheme arrangement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35273/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 377: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of people who have transferred to the rental accommodation scheme per annum, to date in 2009, on a county basis in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35274/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 378: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the rental accommodation scheme targets per annum since inception of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35275/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 372 to 378, inclusive, together.

Activity under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) has been increasing steadily since the scheme first commenced in 2005. The total number of households transferred from Rent Supplement to the end of August 2009 was 22,412. Of these, 11,987 households were provided with accommodation directly under the Rental Accommodation Scheme, with 10,425 being accommodated under other social housing options. The following tables set out the numbers of households transferred from Rent Supplement, by local authority in each of the years 2005 to 2008 and to end August 2009, together with details of national targets and transfers delivered.

Table: No. of households transferred from Rent Supplement per county, per annum

*Cork County transfers included in figures for Cork City for the years 2005 & 2006.

Table: Annual RAS Targets and Transfers

** Jan-Aug 2009

The number of households transferring from rent supplement has increased year on year since RAS began. Indeed, in 2008, the scheme exceeded its target number of transfers by 36% or 1,800 households. Figures to the end of August 2009 would indicate that the scheme is on course to deliver on its target of 7,000 new transfers, with almost 4,500 households transferred or 65% of the annual target met.

In terms of the funding arrangements for the scheme, following agreement between my Department and the Department of Social and Family Affairs in relation to the target level of transfers each year, the requisite funding to support the scheme is assigned to my Department's Vote. In recognition of the significant transfers that were already achieved in the first four years of the scheme, and the most ambitious annual transfer target to date, some €90 million was provided to support the scheme in 2009. This represents a significant increase (70.6%) on the previous year's budget. While the total expended on the scheme to date is some €145 million, the vast majority of this funding directly provides for the accommodation costs of existing and new transfers to the scheme, and a small proportion is provided to support local authorities in their ongoing operation/administration of the scheme. To date, approximately €6 million, out of the €145 million spent to date, has been provided to local authorities for this purpose, or just 4% of the overall funding.

In terms of generating savings from the transfer of Rent Supplement recipients to RAS, the experience to date indicates that while some savings are being generated for particular types of accommodation in certain areas, these savings vary from case to case, and are dependent on the individual circumstances of the tenant, and the standard of their accommodation. One of the main objectives for the RAS is to improve the living conditions and standards of accommodation for recipients and, to date, some 4,163 new units of accommodation (i.e. not currently in use for Rent Supplement purposes) have been sourced by authorities, which are generally of a higher standard than the existing Rent Supplement accommodation occupied by the households concerned. In that context, it is considered that the scheme is delivering value for money, as well as meeting an important social policy goal of delivering better accommodation to vulnerable households.

Already, my Department has supported a number of external reviews of RAS undertaken by the Centre for Housing Research, as well as undertaking an Interim Value for Money and Policy Review of the scheme. In line with the Department of Finance guidelines on the latter, the completed review has recently been the subject of an external evaluation and will be published shortly.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 379: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the local authority responsible for the maintenance of an estate (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35291/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, the management and maintenance of the local authority housing stock is a matter for individual authorities. However, I understand that the process for the taking in charge of this estate has been initiated by Cork County Council and is subject to the finalisation of landscaping and planting works.