Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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131. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 will have rent allowance increased from €742 to €975 while waiting to be housed by Dublin City Council as the person's landlord has raised the rent. [38005/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The person concerned was in receipt of rent supplement from this Department from September 2012 until August 2014 on the basis of an assessable rent of €875 per month and income from her jobseeker’s allowance payments. In August 2014 the person concerned applied for an increase in rent supplement as the rent on her accommodation had increased to €975 per month. However, when her case was being reviewed it came to light that her income had also increased as she is receiving maintenance payments of €20 per week. Consequently, when assessing her new entitlement to rent supplement, the increase in her assessable income was taken into account, and this means the amount payable to her increased from €745.00 per month to €749.70 per month. This calculation is correct and was done in accordance with social welfare legislation; it is not therefore possible to further increase the amount payable as the Deputy has requested.

However if there are exceptional circumstances in this case, the person concerned may wish to contact Threshold to explore the possibility of obtaining suitable accommodation under the Interim Tenancy Sustainment Protocol (ITSP), the initiative between this Department, the 4 Dublin Local Authorities, and Threshold Ltd to tackle homelessness in the Dublin area. If the person concerned has any supporting evidence in this regard she should furnish this to her Local Office as soon as possible. Additionally it remains open for her to submit an appeal against this decision on her entitlement to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.