Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the maximum amount of savings a person can have and still be entitled to qualify for rent allowance. [43934/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are approximately 90,000 persons in receipt of rent supplement for which the Government has provided a sum of €436 million for 2012. Rent supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) appropriate to their family circumstances less a minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. The weekly minimum contribution is €30 for a single adult household and €35 for coupled households. Many recipients pay more than this amount because recipients are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate SWA rate towards their accommodation costs.

As part of the assessment of means for rent supplement, capital (savings and investments) and the value of property owned but not personally used or enjoyed are assessed as means. Where capital or property is assessed on this basis, any income received from its use (e.g. interest on savings, dividends from shares, rent from property let) is not assessed as cash income. Instead, the following formula is used to establish weekly means:

- Disregard first €5,000 of capital value of property/savings

- Assess next €10,000 @ €1 per €1,000

- Assess next €25,000 @ €2 per €1,000

- Assess remaining capital over €40,000 @ €4 per €1,000.

The amount of rent supplement is determined by not only the person’s savings, but also includes factors such as earnings, household composition and the local rent limits in force. In this regard, it is not possible to specify an amount of savings that a person could have and still qualify for a rent supplement payment without an understanding of the person’s individual circumstances.