Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in the Dublin City Council, South Dublin City Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and Fingal County Council areas respectively that are in receipt of rent supplement at present. [34476/12]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 263: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in the State in receipt of rent supplement at present and if he will provide a breakdown of local authority areas. [34477/12]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 299: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current waiting time for an application for mortgage interest supplement; the number of applicants currently waiting for same to be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34790/12]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 305: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current waiting time for an application for rent supplement; the number of applicants currently waiting for same to be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34796/12]

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 319: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients in receipt of rent allowance in Cork City and County; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34931/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 262, 263, 299, 305 and 319 together.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income 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 aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer.

Statistics on the number of rent supplement recipients by local authority or city/county council areas are not available. However, I attach the most recently compiled breakdown of rent supplement recipients per county in the attached tabular statement.

The timescale for determining applications is dependent, among other things, on the availability of the required information, such as details of the applicant's income, bank statements etc. In addition, some aspects of the application are inevitably time consuming and delays can occur where investigations such as home visits or third party evidence are required. Delays can also arise if the applicant is slow to respond to requests for additional information.

The provision of a prompt service is a major objective for the Department's staff dealing with applications. However, this is tempered by the necessity to ensure that every case is fully investigated and that all cases are dealt with in a consistent and fair manner. While statistics are not available on the numbers of applicants awaiting a decision on rent and mortgage interest supplement applications or the average length of time taken to assess these claims, I am satisfied that the Department's staff dealing with these applications make every effort to ensure claims are processed in an efficient manner.

Rent Supplement Recipients by County and Dublin Postal District: