Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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1506. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of households in receipt of rent supplement in locations (details supplied). [35458/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Rent Supplement payment is currently supporting some 41,240 tenants nationally, of which 18,689 are in Dublin; the Government has provided €253 million for Rent Supplement in 2017.

A breakdown of rent supplement recipients by county is included in the table. However, the information is not maintained by specific locality. The extraction of specific geographical areas from the total numbers maintained for South Dublin, would take some interrogation and therefore cannot be provided within the timeframe permitted by this Parliamentary Question.

The Deputy will be aware that the strategic policy direction of the Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term income support with the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme which, from 1 March 2017, is available nationwide. In addition to the ongoing transfer of long-term rent supplement recipients to HAP, the majority of new applicants seeking State support towards their rent are being supported by the Local Authorities under HAP rather than rent supplement.

Tabular Statement – Rent Supplement Recipients by County, End June, 2017

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.