Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the guidelines he has issued to local authorities in relation to whether or not to include disability allowance when it comes to setting local authority housing rent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11252/10]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The making and amending of rent schemes is the responsibility of local authorities as an integral part of their housing management functions, subject to broad principles laid down by my Department in Circular letter HRT 3/2002. It is a matter for local authorities, when assessing individual households, to consider whether rents payable are in accordance with the authority's rent scheme. Therefore, decisions on whether or not to disregard either a proportion of income or particular sources of income for the purposes of calculating rents are matters for each individual local authority to consider in accordance with their own rent scheme.

While it is not my intention to implement a national standardised differential rent scheme, in the context of new provisions provided for by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, I intend to make regulations later this year which will more clearly set out the matters that may be included in a local rents scheme.