Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 301: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the means assessment criteria for supplementary welfare allowance for those who have a second property either through inheritance or as a pension investment and who, owing to market conditions, can neither rent nor sell said asset; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24907/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The supplementary welfare allowance means test includes a value attributed to any capital a person may have. Capital refers to savings, investments, cash-on-hands and property (excluding their own home). The value of all of these items is added together and a formula applied to their total value to calculate a person's weekly means, depending on the particular social assistance scheme in involved.

Capital that is owned but not personally used or enjoyed (e.g. a second house) is assessed as means under the means test. Where capital or property is assessed on this basis, any income received from its use (e.g. interest on savings, dividends from shares, rent from property) is not assessed as cash income. Instead, the following formula is used to establish weekly means:

- Disregard first €5,000 of capital value of property/savings

- Assess next €10,000 at €1 per €1,000

- Assess next €25,000 at €2 per €1,000

- Assess remaining capital over €40,000 at €4 per €1,000.

The capital assessment formula applicable to SWA is not intended to determine a potential rate of interest or income from the capital, but rather to ensure that any such capital or savings should be utilized by applicants towards their basic income needs. Apart from this assessment formula, any interest or income actually received by an applicant derived from this capital is not taken into account further for SWA means assessment purposes.

There are no plans to change the treatment of capital under the supplementary welfare allowance means test. Any changes would have to be considered within a budgetary context.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 302: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in County Wicklow in receipt of rent supplement in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011; her plans to reform the rent supplement scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24917/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The table below shows the number of recipients of rent supplement in County Wicklow from 2007 to 2011.

As the Deputy is aware, there are several commitments contained in the Programme for Government in relation to the rent supplement scheme. In this regard, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning, on 16 June 2011, announced a new housing policy framework statement reflecting the content of the Programme for Government (Government for National Recovery 2011-2016) and setting out the principles to underpin the development of housing policy into the medium term. This policy framework statement contained an announcement in relation to the transfer of responsibility for providing for the housing needs of long term rent supplement recipients to housing authorities on a phased basis.

This transfer of tenants from rent supplement to the local authorities will help achieve a key Government commitment and return rent supplement to its original intention of a short–term income support payment. My Department is currently working with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with a view to achieving this goal.

Recipients of Rent Supplement in Co. Wicklow, 2007 to 2011

*At 2 September 2011