Written answers

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Department of Social Protection

Rent Supplement Scheme Data

Photo of Dessie EllisDessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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231. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of persons in receipt of rent supplement, and at each limit, per county. [13192/15]

Photo of Dessie EllisDessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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232. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the decision to ban rent supplement in Ballymun, Dublin 11. [13193/15]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.

The rent supplement scheme provides 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. There are currently approximately 70,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for 2015. A breakdown of rent supplement recipients and the maximum rent limits is provided on a county basis in the attached tabular statement. The numbers of persons per county for each rent limit is not available.

The Department continues to allow for flexibility within the administration of the rent supplement scheme with each tenant’s circumstances considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents increased above prescribed limits if deemed appropriate, through the Department’s National Tenancy Sustainment Framework, and also the Interim Tenancy Sustainment Service, operated in conjunction with Threshold in Dublin and Cork areas.

Section 25 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 provided that a payment of rent supplement can be refused in respect of accommodation which is situated in an area notified to the Minister for Social Protection by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, as being an area of regeneration. The lifting of the condition for rent supplement with respect to the Ballymun regeneration area is a matter for my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

The measures provided for in Section 25 are not a blanket refusal of rent supplement in areas of regeneration. Specific provision is made to ensure that:

- people already residing in such areas and in receipt of rent supplement may continue to receive payment; and

- people already residing in such areas in private rental accommodation and who may have recourse to rent supplement in the future would not have their entitlement restricted.

Tabular Statement A: Rent Supplement recipients, as of end February 2015

County
Recipients
CARLOW
1,087
CAVAN
421
CLARE
1,337
CORK
8,078
DONEGAL
1,739
DUBLIN
26,063
GALWAY
3,596
KERRY
1,692
KILDARE
3,652
KILKENNY
899
LAOIS
1,009
LEITRIM
333
LIMERICK
2,316
LONGFORD
479
LOUTH
2,144
MAYO
1,615
MEATH
1,683
MONAGHAN
346
OFFALY
1,015
ROSCOMMON
675
SLIGO
469
TIPPERARY
1,924
WATERFORD
1,411
WESTMEATH
1,525
WEXFORD
2,584
WICKLOW
2,091
Grand Total
70,183

Tabular Statement B: Currently in force Maximum Rental Limits

County:Single SharedCouple SharedSingleCoupleCouple/One Parent Family - 1 qualified ChildCouple/One Parent Family - 2 qualified ChildrenCouple/One Parent Family - 3 qualified Children
Dublin - Fingal
300
350
520
700
850
900
950
Dublin - Not Fingal
350
400
520
750
950
975
1,000
Carlow
230
250
375
433
520
560
590
Cavan
160
190
325
350
400
415
433
Clare
190
210
320
350
400
450
500
Cork
250
270
485
575
700
725
750
Donegal
175
200
300
325
350
400
450
Galway
280
300
475
540
700
725
750
Kerry
190
220
365
390
500
520
540
Kildare
250
300
433
500
650
700
750
Kilkenny
200
230
390
430
540
565
590
Laois
200
230
340
350
450
480
520
Leitrim
175
195
300
325
350
375
400
Limerick
200
240
375
400
500
550
600
Longford
160
175
290
300
325
340
350
Louth
215
250
390
400
550
575
600
Mayo
195
215
375
390
433
465
500
Meath
200
260
390
420
550
600
650
Monaghan
180
190
300
350
400
433
450
Offaly
200
220
360
400
450
475
500
Roscommon
200
220
300
325
400
410
425
Sligo
195
220
400
425
520
540
550
Tipperary
195
220
370
400
485
500
525
Waterford
220
240
375
390
475
500
525
Westmeath
190
210
390
400
500
520
530
Wexford
250
270
375
390
500
540
575
Wicklow
240
290
425
450
600
610
625
North Kildare
270
290
500
575
750
800
850
Bray
275
300
520
680
850
925
1,000

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