Written answers

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Department of Social Protection

Rent Supplement Scheme

9:00 pm

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the situation whereby if a housing applicant in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown unable to find rented accommodation in the Dun Laoighaire area due to the new rent allowance caps and finds a home in Bray or North Wicklow area within the caps, is then forced to move from the housing list in Dun Laoghaire to the housing list in Bray and forfeit the time accrued on the Dun Laoghaire list; if she will consider making an arrangement between Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and Wicklow County Councils like the one that exists between the four Dublin Local Authorities [31227/12]

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the case of a person who is unable to access rent allowance in Bray without forfeiting their years on the housing waiting list in Dun Laoghaire and cannot find a home in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown because of the rent caps and as a result is forced to live at home with their mother and leave their children with other family members. [31229/12]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 123 together.

The purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term income support to eligible tenants 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. There are approximately 93,000 persons in receipt of rent supplement for which the Government has provided a sum of €436 million for 2012.

Subject to fulfilling other conditions of the scheme, applicants may qualify for rent supplement provided that they have been residing in private rented accommodation or an institution for 183 days within the preceding 12 months of the date of claim. Where this is not the case, applicants must be deemed by a relevant local authority as being eligible for and in need of social housing support before they can be eligible for consideration for rent supplement.

The Department's central rents unit generally accepts housing needs assessments provided by the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Local Authority in respect of rent supplement applicants who are seeking accommodation in Bray and North Wicklow areas. However, each case is determined having regard to the individual circumstances of the case. Policy in relation to the provision of social housing and the maintenance of housing lists is the responsibility of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.

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