Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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228. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of households by county currently in receipt of the rent supplement payment in tabular form; the number of households by county that have had their rent increased above the prescribed rent supplement limit for their area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40609/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The rent supplement scheme is supporting approximately 48,600 tenants at a total cost of €267 million this year. A breakdown of rent supplement recipients by county is provided in the attached tabular statement. In recognition of the ongoing supply difficulties, my Department continues to implement a targeted case-by-case policy approach that allows for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of the limits. To date, approximately 10,600 persons at imminent risk of homelessness have been supported through increased rent supplement payments. There has been a significant reduction in these cases following the introduction of the increased rent limits from 1 July this year. A county breakdown of these payments is provided in the tabular statement.The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a key Government priority and a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020 and the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness – Rebuilding Ireland – which has committed to an accelerated target of 12,000 HAP tenancies in 2016. Under HAP, responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to those with a long-term housing need transfers to local authorities, under the auspices of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.

From 1st December 2016, the HAP scheme is now operational in 28 of the 31 local authority areas. It is expected that HAP will be fully rolled out to the remaining Dublin administrative areas from 1st March 2017.

The Deputy will be aware that HAP was first piloted in the Limerick area in early 2014 and there are now over 1,500 HAP supported tenancies in Limerick City and County. The number of HAP recipients in Limerick has exceeded the number of rent supplement recipients (973). In addition to the ongoing transfer of tenancies from rent supplement to HAP, the majority of new applicants in Limerick seeking State support towards their rent are being processed under HAP rather than rent supplement. This activity is reflected in the low number of increased payments provided under rent supplement in this area.

In tandem with the revised rental limits introduced in July 2016 and on-going transfers to HAP, my Department continues to implement a targeted, flexible, case-by-case approach where rents may exceed the appropriate maximum limit ensuring where possible the threat of homelessness for tenants can be avoided.

Tabular Statement

Table 1: Rent Supplement Recipients by County as at end November 2016

Table 2: Total Cumulative Increased Rental Payments by County as at 12th December 2016