Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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270. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the details of legislation which changed family income supplement, FIS, to be means tested for rent allowance by local authorities and social housing bodies (details supplied). [18166/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Social Protection’s rent supplement scheme plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 55,000 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016.

Rent supplement is subject to a means test that is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of their rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) that is appropriate to their family circumstances, less a minimum contribution that recipients are required to pay from their own resources. The weekly minimum contribution is €30 for a single adult household and €40 for coupled households. Many recipients pay more than this amount because recipients are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate towards their accommodation costs.

The rent supplement assessment provides for a gradual withdrawal of payment as hours of employment or earnings increase. Income from employment and family income supplement (FIS) in excess of the standard SWA weekly rate of payment attract an additional income disregard and are assessed as follows; the first €75 of such additional income together with 25% of any additional income above €75 is disregarded for means assessment purposes.

The legislative basis for the assessment of FIS as assessable income for rent supplement purposes was provided by way of Regulation under Article 4(b) of Statutory Instrument 267 of 2007.

Policy regarding the differential rents scheme operated by local authorities is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.