Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 279: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for rent allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37450/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There is no record of a rent supplement application in respect of the person concerned. If the person concerned wishes to apply for rent supplement she should complete an application pack and return it to the Central Rents Unit, PO Box 11758, Dublin 24.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if rent supplement has been re-instated given that the requested information was forwarded to the rent section on 4 November 2011 in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37454/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The person concerned is in receipt of her full entitlement to rent supplement based on her household circumstances. She was awarded rent supplement on 17 November 2011.

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review a rent supplement decision in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37457/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.

Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant may incur. Rent limits are set at levels that enable eligible households to secure and retain basic suitable rented accommodation, having regard to the different rental market conditions that prevail in various parts of the country. It is essential to ensure that state support for rent supplement tenants, who form a substantial section of the rental market, does not give rise to inflated rental prices with particular negative impact on those tenants on lower incomes, including those who are in low paid employment.

Staff administering rent supplement have the authority to set levels lower than those provided for in the regulations, in respect of sub-divisions of their functional areas, where this is appropriate. This allows for lower rent levels to apply in certain locations within counties reflecting local market conditions. Under normal circumstances rent supplement is not paid where the rent charged for the accommodation is above the relevant maximum rent limit. However, staff do have some flexibility around making payment above these limits.

The most recent rent limit review established new maximum rent limits from June 2010 and I am satisfied that the rent limits are sufficient to enable eligible households to secure and retain basic suitable rented accommodation.

The current rent limits will remain in force until December 2011 and will be reviewed later this year with a view to establishing new rent limits. The review will be based on analysis of data sets available to the Department on private rental prices within the state. This will include information supplied by the Central Statistics Office, the Private Residential Tenancies Board and other publicly available data sources.

The person who is living in County Meath, is in receipt of Supplementary Welfare Allowance, and is claiming rent supplement. The maximum rate of rent in respect of which a rent supplement is payable for a couple with two children living in County Meath is €700 per month. Taking account of the minimum contribution applicable to a person in receipt of Supplementary Welfare Allowance, the maximum rate of rent supplement payable in this case is €137.50 per week. However, as an exceptional measure, the person has been awarded rent supplement of €170.15 per week for a period of 13 weeks, to allow time for the person to find alternative accommodation at a rent that does not exceed the maximum rate allowable, or to re-negotiate the rent with the landlord. The maximum rent limits for each county is set in legislation (Statutory Instrument Number 295/2010). The limits are set in accordance with county boundaries, and not postal districts.

Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 282: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications made to her for carer's allowance for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and up to 30 October 2011; the number of these applications that were granted, refused, appealed and successful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37466/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The information requested in respect of carer's allowance applications is contained in the table below:

I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that 691 carer's allowance appeals were received in 2007, 1,046 in 2008, 1,977 in 2009, 2,969 in 2010 and 1,838 in 2011 (to 31 October 2011). The number of successful carer's allowance appeals were 181 in 2007, 158 in 2008, 277 in 2009, 520 in 2010, and 700 to the end of October 2011.