Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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659. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of households in receipt of rent supplement by county, in tabular form; the number of households in each county that have had their rent supplement increased above the prescribed limits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42537/17]

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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678. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annualised cost of the average monthly rent currently paid to rent supplement recipients under the scheme; the number of families availing of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42839/17]

Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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691. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a mechanism whereby persons who are awaiting the outcome of their HAP application with their local authority can be permitted to apply for and be paid rent allowance or SWA in the interim will be approved in view of the length of time it is taking for these applications to be processed. [42996/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 659, 678 and 691 together.

The rent supplement scheme, administered by my Department, plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting in excess of 37,460 recipients for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017. A county breakdown of rent supplements recipients as at end September 2017 is provided in the attached tabular statement.

The full annualised costs for the existing customer base at current blended rent supplement tenancy rates of €480 per month, is approximately €220 million.

In recognition of the on-going rental market difficulties, my Department continues to implement a targeted case-by-case policy approach in the administration of rent supplement that allows for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of the rent limits. In addition, the Protocol arrangement in place with Threshold continues to operate in the areas where supply issues are particularly acute covering Dublin, Cork, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and Galway City. To date in 2017, in excess of 1,450 recipients have been supported with increased rent payments.A county breakdown of these payments is provided in the attached tabular statement.

As the Deputies will be aware 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, available nationwide from 1 March 2017. There are currently c. 27,600 HAP tenancies in place of which c. 8,200 (c. 30%) are transfers from rent supplement. 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 supported by Local Authorities through HAP rather than rent supplement.

Rent supplement is not an interim or ancillary payment while a HAP application is being processed. However, rent supplement will continue to be paid to households who are already in the private rented sector but who, generally because of a loss of income through unemployment, require a short term income support to pay their rent.

Officials in my Department continue to work closely with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and local authorities to facilitate the ongoing implementation of the HAP scheme including the transfer of cases from Rent Supplement. Queries in relation to the administration of the HAP scheme should be raised with my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government or the Local Authority in question.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputies.

Tabular Statement: Rent Supplement by County at end of September 2017

Tabular Statement: Increased Rental Payments by County: January – September 2017