Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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141. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he has considered the omission of the N7 region from the amended rent supplement limits announced from 1 July 2015; if he will reconsider the assessment of such to include the N7 region where the road passes through the most deprived areas in Kildare, namely, Naas, Newbridge, County Kildare, Monasterevin and so on (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20161/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The increased rent limits under the rent supplement scheme, as announced last week, were introduced with effect from Friday, 1 July 2016. Supports in relation to housing and the provision of financial supports, including the rent supplement scheme currently supporting some 54,000 recipients at a cost of €267 million in 2016, are a key priority as evidenced by the early implementation of this Government commitment.

The rent limit review sets maximum rent limits in line with market rents which have generally been benchmarked at the 35th percentile of agreed rents as registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. Each county’s major urban area was used to establish an appropriate benchmark for the county’s prevailing maximum rent limit. In the case of Kildare, excluding the towns of: Maynooth; Leixlip; Celbridge; and Kilcock, the major urban centre selected for this county as the main benchmark in establishing maximum rent limits was Naas. The Deputy referred to other market areas in county Kildare namely, Newbridge, Monasterevin and by extension Kilcullen, which have lower rental pricing than Naas, and are covered under the county Kildare limits. The rent limits in county Kildare have increased by a weighted average of 19%.

Higher rent limits continue to be provided for the areas of Maynooth, Leixlip, Celbridge and Kilcock where the rental price differential remains. A weighted average increase was applied to the rents in these areas of 25%, reflecting the market conditions.

The combination of the increased rent limits and the ongoing flexibility and discretionary increases provided by my Department’s Community Welfare Service staff, in addition to the supports provided under Threshold’s Tenancy Protection Service (available in Kildare), will continue to provide stability for tenants.