Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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129. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the options available to a person (details supplied) who is out of work due to illness and who is in receipt of payments under the disability allowance scheme and the living alone allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19932/16]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The rate of payment of disability allowance (DA) quoted by the deputy is the maximum rate payable for a single person who is living alone.

There are currently approximately 2,600 people in receipt of the mortgage interest supplement scheme for which the Government has provided over €7 million for in 2016. The scheme was discontinued for new applicants from 1 January 2014, with customers availing of this support prior to 1st January 2014 retaining entitlement until the closure of the scheme on 1st January 2018.

The continued payment of mortgage interest supplement does little to assist families in improving the long term difficulty in addressing their mortgage problem. The most appropriate way in which families experiencing mortgage difficulties can be supported is through on-going engagement with their lender to explore sustainable solutions.

It is expected that over the remaining period existing customers will exit the scheme through sustainable solutions being put in place with their lenders; securing employment; or exit strategies sponsored by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, such as the Mortgage to Rent Scheme.

The role of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has been enhanced with the establishment of a new Dedicated Mortgage Arrears MABS service established to help those specifically with mortgage debt. There are now 27 specialist DMA advisors working across 24 locations countrywide, assisting borrowers to assess the options available to them, signposting them towards ISI where appropriate, or negotiating with lenders on their behalf. Together with the Insolvency Service of Ireland, MABS has a presence at every repossession court nationwide, supporting distressed borrowers who are facing loss of their home, signposting them to appropriate services, including insolvency services, or direct referral to MABS for assistance.

Guidance has recently issued to the Department’s Community Welfare Service staff to help them better inform persons experiencing financial difficulty of these additional supports.