Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the maximum rent of €725 per month by her Department in Leixlip, Maynooth and Celbridge, County Kildare is not realistic given the location which is affected by student rented accommodation and rental accommodation for local major employers notwithstanding her previous indication to the effect that it is possible to source accommodation at that level in County Kildare in general where rents vary greatly in accordance with the economic situation; if she will review this position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42551/12]

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. There are currently approximately 90,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €436 million for 2012.

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.

Analysis shows that for County Kildare, there are properties available within the maximum rent limits for rent supplement recipients. The maximum rent limit for a couple or one parent family with two children in County Kildare is €725.

The number of rental properties available in North Kildare, including Leixlip, Maynooth and Celbridge, is somewhat lower than the numbers available in the rest of the county and therefore impacts on the number of accommodation units available for rent supplement. Latest figures show that there are over 900 rent supplement recipients in the Leixlip, Maynooth and Celbridge areas, indicating that it is possible to secure accommodation in these locations within the rent limits.

The Department will continue to monitor rent levels throughout the country but at this point I have no plans to revise the existing rent limits.