Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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93. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason FIS is assessed as income when applying for rent supplement, but not when applying for other housing supports, such as HAP or RAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33118/16]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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94. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason parents in full-time education or in receipt of one-parent family payments or jobseeker's transition payments are not entitled to rent supplement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33119/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 94 together.

Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting some 49,700 recipients for which the Government has provided €267 million for in 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). The means test also ensures that the amount of rent supplement payable is appropriate to their family circumstances, less a minimum contribution that recipients are required to pay from their own resources. The current 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.

Persons in receipt of the One-Parent Family or Jobseeker's Transitional payments are not excluded from receiving rent supplement, however restrictions do exist in respect of persons engaged in full-time education. In general, persons engaged in full-time education are excluded from receiving rent supplement. It is the case that those participating in approved courses under the back-to-education allowance (BTEA) or the vocational training opportunities scheme (VTOS) may retain entitlement to rent supplement, subject to meeting all other conditions of the scheme.

My Department’s overall policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose as short-term income support by transferring responsibility for persons with long-term housing needs to the local authorities under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) under the auspices of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community & Local Government.

Policy regarding the assessment of means under the HAP or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) as operated by the local authorities is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.