Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 163: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she intends changing the 20 hour rule for eligibility for mortgage interest supplement; the reason this has not been changed to date as recommended in the Cooney report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31871/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There are currently over 18,500 households benefiting from mortgage interest supplement, for which €77.2m has been allocated for 2011.

The Department's review of the administrative, policy and legal aspects of the mortgage interest supplement scheme was published in July 2010 in conjunction with the interim report of the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group. The final report of the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group was published in November 2010. These reports set out a number of recommendations which centred on the delivery of customer service improvement by ensuring that State support for those unable to deal with mortgage arrears is better targeted, consistent and easily understood. Allied with the focus on customer service improvements are recommendations that seek to ensure that lending institutions, borrowers and the Exchequer share responsibilities and commitments in a balanced way. The report's recommendation to remove the 30 hour rule was made within the context of the mortgage interest supplement scheme becoming a time bound payment. The recommendations set out in the Mortgage and Personal Debt Review Group's final report were considered by the Inter-Departmental Mortgage Arrears Working Group whose report to the Government's Economic Management Council was published on the 12th October 2011.

My Department's officials are currently examining this report and considering the implications of the recommendations.

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 164: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons availing of rent allowance in County Carlow; the breakdown of same in terms of location, Carlow town, Bagenalstown, Tullow and the rest of the county; the number of letting agents being used; and the number of clients per agent. [31880/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Since 2005 rent supplement expenditure has increased from €369million to €516million in 2010. The number of persons claiming the allowance increased from almost 60,200 persons in 2005 to some 95,700 as at October 2011, a 59% increase.

There are 1,460 recipients of rent supplement in County Carlow. My Department has no information on the number of letting agents or rent supplement recipients in respect of the locations specified.