Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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Question 287: To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No 376 of 3 July 2012 if, in view of the fact that constituents are reporting that deciding officers have refused to accept any evidence of a joint custody arrangement other than a court order, she will confirm that a letter from a solicitor should be regarded, in ordinary circumstances, as acceptable documentation by the officer administering the scheme; and if she will issue an instruction to that effect. [33660/12]

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.

Each claim for rent supplement is determined having regard to the particular circumstances of the applicant and in a case where parents have joint custody of a child, the needs of both parents to have adequate accommodation are taken into account when an application for a rent supplement is being determined. While documentation is normally required showing that a joint custody arrangement is in place, and being availed of, before a decision can be made, it is a matter for the officer administering the scheme to determine the form of documentation required. This flexibility supports the officer in fully assessing the circumstances specific to each case.

Accordingly it is not proposed to issue instructions to officers administering rent supplement on the documentation required for claims where the applicant has joint custody of a child.