Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

578. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons that have been transferred from the rent supplement scheme to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government's housing assistance payment scheme in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11357/18]

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

579. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of rent supplement in County Cork by each local electoral area in tabular form at 31 December 2017 and to date in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11358/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 578 and 579 together.

Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting some 32,450 recipients for which the Government has provided €180 million for 2018. The number of rent supplement recipients as at end of December 2017 and February, 2018 is provided in the following tabular statement. Recipient numbers for Cork are also provided, however analysis of rent supplement tenancies by local electoral area is not maintained.

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. HAP is available nationwide from 1 March 2017, and there are currently some 33,750 active HAP tenancies in place of which over 9,240 were direct transfers from rent supplement. The number of rent supplement tenancies transferred to HAP during 2017 is not maintained by the Department.

Officials in my Department continue to work closely with the Local Authorities to support the transfer of long term rent supplement recipients to HAP.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Table 1: Rent Supplement Recipient Numbers