Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the Forfás and National Competitiveness Council recommendation that housing benefits should depend on income rather than employment status and should be retained for a period as in in-work benefit. [4340/12]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding discussions between her and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government regarding making greater use of RAS. [4341/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 36 together.

There are currently almost 96,000 individuals in receipt of a rent supplement payment at a cost of some €500million to the State in 2011. Two main initiatives are currently being pursued by the Department to transfer long-term rent supplement recipients to housing solutions supported by local authorities. These are the rental accommodation scheme (RAS) and the new housing policy initiative launched in June 2011.

The RAS, which was introduced in 2004, gives local authorities specific responsibility for meeting the longer-term housing needs of people who receive rent supplement for 18 months or more. Local authorities meet the housing needs of these individuals through a range of approaches, including the traditional range of social housing options, the voluntary housing sector and, in particular, the RAS.

Latest figures (end December 2011) from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government indicate that, to date, local authorities have transferred a total of 37,759 households from rent supplement (RS). Of these 21,892 were housed directly under RAS and a further 15,867 were accommodated under other social housing options. In June 2011, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister of State with responsibility for housing published a new housing policy framework statement. The object, in terms of reform, is the transfer of the rent supplement scheme to local authorities. A multi-agency steering group chaired by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government with representatives from the Departments of Social Protection; Public Expenditure and Reform; the County and City Managers Association, and the Housing Agency is considering the implementation of this transfer.

These two initiatives will help achieve a key Government commitment of removing barriers to employment, while at the same time returning rent supplement to its original purpose, that of a short-term income support payment for those who are temporarily unemployed. The initiatives will also address the recommendation contained in the report referred to by the Deputy "Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge 2011" that is "housing related entitlements are transferred out of the social welfare system, and into a separate dedicated housing stream where entitlement would depend on income levels rather than employment status i.e. decoupling housing support from social welfare payments".