New rules will not end rent supplements

CLLR Noel Collins (Irish Examiner letters, August 9) refers to an initiative announced by Social and Family Affairs Minister Mary Coughlan and Minister of State Noel Ahern.

This is the initiative under which local authorities will assume responsibility for meeting the long-term housing needs of people who have depended on rent supplement for 18 months.

The initiative will enable local authorities to meet the housing needs of social welfare recipients with long-term housing needs who, up to now, have had to rely on weekly or monthly rent supplements on a long-term basis (ie, for 18 months or more).

In some cases, this will be through the provision of additional social housing in the local authority and voluntary sectors. In other cases, it will be through new arrangements between local authorities and private sector property owners.

Mr Collins states that: “The new rules mean rent supplements will be denied after 18 months.”

This is not so.

In fact, people who have been on rent supplement for 18 months are the main target group who will benefit from the initiative.

The aim is to improve the position of social welfare recipients with long-term housing needs who are tenants in the private rented sector.

The fact that a person has been receiving rent supplement for 18 months is one of the indicators being used to identify people with long-term housing needs for this very purpose.

There is no question of an arbitrary cut-off point of 18 months (or any other threshold) at which rent supplement ceases regardless of whether alternative arrangements are in place to meet the housing needs of the households in question.

Mr Collins also states that “in 2003, €322 million was spent on rent supplement payments to private landlords. Why could this funding not be given to local authorities?”

The initiative involves precisely that. Funding will transfer from the social welfare system to local authorities to spend it in the manner they consider best suited to meeting the long-term housing needs of the people who would otherwise depend on rent supplement on a long-term basis.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for Mr Collins and for your readers.

Carmel Fields

Press Officer

Department of Social & Family Affairs

Áras Mhic Dhiarmada

Store Street

Dublin 1