Written answers
Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Department of Social Protection
Rent Supplement Scheme Administration
Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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36. To ask the Minister for Social Protection to review the guidelines as to when claimants are notified of a reduction in their rent supplement; and to introduce a new rule that claimants should be given a minimum of four weeks' notice of any such reductions to allow them to make appropriate financial arrangements to ensure that they have sufficient funds to meet their increased personal contribution. [5644/16]
Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 57,600 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016. There were over 20,100 rent supplement tenancies awarded during 2015 and over 3,000 awarded during the first three months of 2016 showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers of people under the scheme.
With social assistance payments, including rent supplement, the maximum rate of entitlement is payable where a claimant’s means are nil. It is in the nature of means tested schemes that where means exceed a certain amount, no entitlement exists. I understand that the person referred to by Deputy Ó Broin does not qualify for rent supplement as a result of their means. The assessment of means is a way of checking if a person has enough means to support themselves and what amount of payment, if any, for which they may qualify.
Rent supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to their family circumstances less a weekly minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. When a revised decision on entitlement has been made on a rent supplement claim, the person is informed of the decision and has the right to have the decision reviewed by the Department or to appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Staff in the Department make every effort to ensure customers are informed of any change in entitlement in a timely manner. The Department is currently reviewing processes in this regard for schemes administered under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, including Rent Supplement. The combination of the means test and awarding differentiated rates of payment is premised on ensuring that social welfare payments, including rent supplement, continue to be paid to those most in need.
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