Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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53. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the output from recent research by the Economic and Social Research Institute on private property rental carried out on behalf of the Private Residential Tenancies Board, particularly in relation to the disproportionate increase in recorded rents in cities and in certain other parts of the country closely linked to cities, including parts of County Wicklow; her views on the need to again address the renewed inadequacy in rent supplement payable in certain parts of the country; the solutions under consideration by her to address the rent supplement problem until average rents start to fall again; the effect the current situation is having on homelessness and the growth in the housing list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24409/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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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 approximately 68,000 rent supplement recipients, with over 2,060 recipients in the Wicklow area. The Government has provided over €298 million for the scheme in 2015.

I fully acknowledge the difficulties that people are experiencing, including rent supplement recipients, in maintaining suitable affordable accommodation in the current market as a result of increasing rents, as set out in the research referred to by the Deputy. The Department’s recent review of the maximum rent limits found that market rents have been increasing significantly over the past 18 months, especially in major urban areas, with this increase in rents fundamentally attributable to a reduced supply of housing. The implementation of the range of actions under the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy will support increased housing supply.

The Department’s review also found 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 administered by this Department and the Rental Accommodation Scheme 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.

In response to these difficulties, the Department has put in place a number of preventative measures to ensure that people at risk of homelessness or loss of their tenancy are supported under the rent supplement scheme where increased rental payments are required. The Department’s preventative policy allows for flexibility in assessing customers’ individual accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents are being increased above prescribed limits throughout the country, as appropriate. Staff in the Community Welfare Service of the Department who administer the rent supplement scheme have a statutory discretionary power to award or increase a supplement for rental purposes, for example, when dealing with applicants who are risk of losing their tenancy. This flexible approach has already assisted over 2,100 rent supplement households nationwide to retain their rented accommodation through the payment of increased rent payments.

A Tenancy Sustainment Protocol in conjunction with Threshold was introduced in the Dublin region and Cork city where supply is particularly acute. The primary objective of the Protocol is to ensure a speedy intervention to ensure that families and persons at immediate risk of losing their tenancy get rapid assistance. Of the 2,100 households referred to above, almost 700 households in Dublin have been supported as a result of engagement under the Protocol and over 20 households in Cork City.

The Department has also undertaken a communications campaign which seeks to encourage people at risk to contact the Department or the Threshold Tenancy Protection service as early as possible to prevent an unnecessary episode of homelessness.The actions undertaken include issuing text messages to over 50,000 rent supplement recipients, issuing monthly tweets to Department followers, updating the Department’s website and the distribution of posters to Department Offices, Post Offices, Citizen Information Centres, MABs offices and Oireachtas members. The Department’s response to the current housing difficulties remains under review to ensure that the appropriate supports continue to be provided.

The issue of social housing lists is a matter for my Government colleague, Alan Kelly T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.