Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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26. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current level of rent supplement to take account of rent increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17332/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are approximately 70,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for in 2015.

The Department recently published a review of the maximum rent limits, “Maximum Rent Limit Analysis and Findings” 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. The impact of increasing limits will yield only a very marginal increase in available supply for rent supplement recipients, if at all, with the only certainty that raising limits will increase costs disproportionately for the Exchequer with little or no new housing available.

The Department will instead continue to provide for flexibility in assessing customers' accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. The Department is also working with Threshold's Tenancy Sustainment service in the Dublin and Cork city areas where supply is most acute. The primary objective of these initiatives is to ensure a speedy intervention for families at immediate risk of losing their tenancy through rising rents.

I am keeping this matter under review and am satisfied that this approach is the appropriate response at this time which has assisted in excess of 1,500 rent supplement recipients to retain their rented accommodation.

Government is addressing the supply issue through the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, is also considering a number of policy options to achieve greater rent certainty.