Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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79. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the full costs of providing social housing via the rental accommodation scheme and long term leasing broken down by council; if he will provide details of the average rents paid for one, two and three bedroom homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33648/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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In 2012, under the Social Housing Leasing Initiative just ov er €20 million was recouped to local a uthorities. Under the Rental Accommodation Scheme in the same year just over €125 million was recouped. This is broken down by Council in the table below. To date the Social Housing Leasing Initiative has delivered 4,114 homes for social housing use. At the end of Quarter 1 2013 local authorities had transferred a total of 44,316 households from Rent Supplement (RS). Of these 26,129 were housed directly under RAS with the remaining 18,187 accommodated under other social housing options.

Under the Social Housing Leasing Initiative the current average monthly rent for a 1- bed privately owned housing unit is €540 per unit per month. For a 2-bed unit it is €578 per month and for a 3-bed unit €593, giving an overall average rent of €583 per unit per month.

The amount of rent paid to private landlords through RAS is a matter for individual authorities, having regard to the need to obtain value for money. However, from data included in local authority financial returns to my Department in 2011, the average monthly rent paid to a private landlord for 2011 was €563. For the same period the current average monthly rent for a 1- bed privately owned housing unit was €479 per unit per month. For a 2-bed unit it was €563 per month and for a 3-bed unit €646 per month.