Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

43. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if rent supplement caps in County Kerry will be reviewed in view of increasing rents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40748/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources. 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 approximately 73,500 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million in 2014.

Prospective tenants are finding it increasingly difficult to secure accommodation due to the reduced availability of properties, particularly in areas of high demand. Raising rent limits may not be the solution to the problem as it is likely to add to further rental inflation and impact, not alone on rent supplement recipients, but also on many lower income workers, their families and students. I plan to keep the matter under close review.

Increasing housing supply and the re-activation of the construction activity is a critical issue for Government and key to restoring stability to the rental market. As part of Budget 2015, Government has announced significant capital investment of over €2.2 billion for social housing for the next three years. In 2014, over €800 million will be invested in a range of housing programmes which represents the first major investment in housing since 2009.

My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly TD, is also due to publish a Social Housing Strategy shortly which will provide a basis for an improved and sustainable approach to the provision of social housing supports in Ireland.

I can assure the Deputy that officers administering rent supplement throughout the country have considerable experience in dealing with customers and make every effort to ensure that their accommodation needs are met, including through the use of their discretionary statutory powers as necessary. A notice reminding staff of their discretionary power to award a supplement for rental purposes in exceptional cases, for example, when dealing with applicants who are at risk of losing their tenancy was circulated earlier this year. The fact that approximately 1,700 people are in receipt of rent supplement in Kerry, of which over 500 were awarded this year, shows that a significant number of persons are being accommodated under the scheme in this region.