Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 250: To ask the Minister for Social Protection, further to Parliamentary Question No. 325 of 21 February 2012, the exact amount of time an unmarried father who has court appointed guardianship of his child must have his child reside with him before her Department recognises that he is not a lone single person but in fact a single person with guardianship of his child; her plans to address this recurring issue by introducing clear guidelines as to the position of single fathers with guardianship of their children in availing of rent support, which is a requirement in their circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13540/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of the rent supplement scheme 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. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer.

Every claim for rent supplement is determined having regard to the particular circumstances of the applicant. Any person seeking a rent supplement must first satisfy the Department's representative that they have a housing need that they are unable to meet from their own resources. In addition, the Department must be satisfied that the residence is reasonably suited to the needs of the claimant. The Department must also be satisfied that the rent payable is reasonable having regard to the nature, character and location of the residence.

In a case where parents have joint custody of a child, the needs of both parents to have adequate accommodation to look after the child are taken into account when an application for a rent supplement is being determined. In such cases there is no exact amount of time a parent must have access to their child, however, documentation is normally required showing that a joint custody arrangement is in place and is being availed of before a decision can be made.

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when she expects a review of the rent allowance limits to take place; if there are plans to stop setting rent allowance along county boundaries but instead to focus on house prices across areas which have similar house prices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13580/12]

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 252: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the difference in rent assistance payments between counties Meath and Dublin even though house prices in parts of the two counties are similar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13581/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 251 and 252 together.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from another source. Since 2005, rent supplement expenditure has increased from €369 million to a provisional outturn of €503 million in 2011. The number of persons claiming the allowance increased from almost 60,200 persons in 2005 to over 96,800 at end 2011, a 61% increase.

As the Department currently funds approximately 40% of the private rented sector it is essential that State support for rents are kept under review, reflect current market conditions and do not distort the market in a way that could increase rent prices for others, such as low paid workers and students.

New maximum rent limits came into force on 1 January 2012 and are in place until June 2013. These new limits are in line with the most up to date market data available. The emphasis of the rent limit review was to ensure that maximum value for money for tenants and the taxpayer was achieved whilst at the same time ensuring that people on rent supplement are not priced out of the market for private rented accommodation. The maximum rent limits are based on an analysis of rental rates rather than house prices. This analysis shows that the asking prices for rents in Meath are below the asking prices for Dublin and this is reflected in the prescribed maximum rent limits.

While the maximum rent limits are generally set at county level 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.