Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that rent supplement recipients have had their rent supplement withdrawn or decreased on the grounds that they have refused an offer of social housing despite a policy being in place across local authorities which allows for a person to make two refusals without negative repercussions; her view on whether it is unfair and inconsistent for community welfare officers to penalise these persons in view of the fact that local authorities recognise that there can be very legitimate grounds for a refusal of a social housing offer; and whether she will issue all CWOs with a directive that they must not penalise rent supplement recipients in this way. [33600/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The community welfare service (CWS), and the community welfare officers providing it , transferred formally to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) from 1 October 2011. The service and the staff are now part of the DSP.

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.

It is a condition of any applicant's entitlement to a rent supplement that they have not refused to accept, within any continuous 12 month period, a second offer of accommodation provided by either a housing authority (including accommodation offered under the Rental Accommodation Scheme) or any approved body by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for the purposes of Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 (No. 18 of 1992) i.e. the Capital Assistance Housing scheme.

Where a rent supplement claimant refuses a second offer of accommodation within a 12 month period the Community Welfare Service is obliged to cease payment of rent supplement for a period of 12 months from the date of refusal. This legislative provision has been set out in detail to staff.