Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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237. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the cost to the State arising from the rent supplement scheme for each of the years, 1989, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005 ,2008, 2011 and 2013. [15250/15]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons, on a county basis, who have availed of the interim tenancy sustainment protocol to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15397/15]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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277. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the rent supplement cap in Balbriggan in County Dublin and in Drogheda and Dundalk in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15633/15]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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279. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will reconsider her decision not to increase rent supplement in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15636/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 237, 258, 277 and 279 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 Government has provided over €298 million for 2015. Rent supplement expenditure figures from 1999 are provided in the tabular statement below; separate rent supplement expenditure data for the years: 1989; 1993; 1996 are not available.

Details of the current maximum rent limits on a county basis are provided in the tabular statement below. The Department recently published a review of the maximum rent limits, “Maximum Rent Limit Analysis and Findings” and it is available on www.welfare.ie. The review finds that increasing rent limits at this time could potentially add to further rental inflation in an already distressed market, affecting not alone rent supplement recipients, but lower-income workers and students. Between the rent supplement scheme and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) administered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the State accounts for a third of the private rented market. The State is therefore a very significant player in the sector which has a responsibility not alone to rent supplement recipients but also to the market as a whole, including all those in private accommodation. The review finds that increasing the rent limits would have several potentially negative effects, including providing an impetus for current rent supplement landlords to renegotiate their lease agreements to the new limits impacting on all existing recipients at significant cost to the Exchequer.

In light of the review’s findings, the Department will instead continue to allow for flexibility in assessing customers’ accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances throughout the country, including those in the Louth area, are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents can be increased above prescribed limits if deemed appropriate. I am satisfied that this is the appropriate response at this time which has assisted in excess of 1,000 rent supplement recipients throughout the country to retain their rented accommodation.

In addition, the Department in conjunction with Threshold operates a Tenancy Sustainment Protocol in the Dublin and Cork areas where supply is most acute. The primary objective of the Protocol is to ensure a speedy intervention to ensure that families at immediate risk of losing their tenancy get rapid assistance. Of the 1,000 recipients mentioned above, over 500 households in Dublin and some 12 in Cork city have been provided assistance through increased rent limits under the Protocol.

The review clearly points out that the main cause of difficulty for persons renting or seeking to rent at this time is the much reduced availability of affordable private rented accommodation. The issue of supply is being addressed by Government through the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy. My Government colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, is also considering a number of policy options in relation to achieving greater rent certainty.

I can assure the Deputies that I am keeping this matter under close review to ensure that the appropriate supports continue to be provided for rent supplement recipients.

Tabular Statements

Table 1 : Maximum Rent Limits

Table 2 : Rent Supplement Expenditure: 1999 to Present

² Rev 2015 February Exp.