Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 January 2012
337 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection if she would be amenable to altering the criteria for rent allowance payments by capping the amount of rent allowance that can be paid to a property owner rather than limiting the amount of rent that can be claimed for by rent allowance recipients, as is the case currently. [3428/12]
View answerThe purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Limits are already in place that impose a maximum amount of rent that is payable to landlords in respect of individual tenancies.
338 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason rent allowance limits for an area (details supplied) have been reduced by a significantly greater degree than other administrative areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3429/12]
View answer375 Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will undertake to review the rent supplement scheme to include Wicklow within the ambit of the maximum rent level for Dublin, which is set at overall higher rates, in view of the fact that property prices in north Wicklow are on a par with those in south Dublin and Dún Laoghaire and, as a result, rents are at a higher level than in other counties outside the greater Dublin area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3863/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 338 and 375 together.
Rent supplement provides short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The Department currently funds approximately 40% of private sector rented accommodation. Accordingly, it is essential that State support for rents are kept under review, reflect current market conditions and do not distort the market in any way.
New maximum rent limits came into force on 1 January 2012. These new limits are in line with the most up to date market data available. The emphasis of the rent limit review was to ensure that value for money is achieved while at the same time ensuring that people on rent supplement are not priced out of the market for private rented accommodation.
At the end of December 2011 there are 2,700 persons in receipt of rent supplement in Wicklow at a cost of some €16.3 million to the taxpayer. The analysis of the rental market for Wicklow carried out by my Department found that rental prices for Bray have a distorting effect on the prices for Wicklow as a whole. For the purpose of establishing limits for the county, Bray was excluded and will be managed separately. Officials in my Department are in the process of drawing up local limits for Bray; this will ensure that tenants for the full county may continue to source accommodation within the prevailing market rates and ensure the best value for money is achieved for the taxpayer.
