A new Government initiative which will ultimately give local authorities responsibility for providing housing for people currently in receipt of rent supplement has been welcomed by both CORI and the National Youth Council.
The arrangements were announced jointly by the Ministers for Social and Family Affairs, Environment and the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal.
Ms Coughlan and the Minister of State, Mr Ahern, announce the new scheme for rent supplement recipients today. Pic: Maxwells
Local authorities will now progressively assume responsibility for meeting the long-term housing needs of the 19,000 households dependent on rent supplement for 18 months or longer.
Some €332 million was spent by the Government on rent supplement payments to private landlords in 2003. This was an increase of more than 30 per cent on the previous year.
Under the new measures, the rent supplement scheme will be "refocused" on meeting short-term income needs while local authorities will assume responsibility for meeting long-term housing needs.
The Government says the arrangements, will, in effect, see an extension of the social housing role of local authorities through direct engagement with the private rented sector.
The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, said the measures would put in place positive solutions for people with long-term housing needs and would provide value for money for the taxpayer. She believed the approach would benefit tenants, taxpayers, accommodation providers and the housing market generally.
"Payment of rent supplements to tenants is an appropriate form of short-term income support, but
over-dependence on such subsidies to meet long-term need does not provide the best outcome for tenants or yield good value for money for the State," she said.
The new arrangements will begin on a phased basis from September. The areas involved in the initial roll-out are Dublin, Galway and Limerick Cities, South Dublin, Donegal, and Offaly/Westmeath
County Councils and Drogheda Town Council. By September 2005, the new arrangements will have commenced in all local authorities.
Rent supplement arrangements for asylum-seekers or "back to work" claimants will not change.
Mr Donall Geoghegan, NYCI policy co-ordinator
Fr Sean Healy, director of the CORI Justice Commission, which represents more than 135 religious congregations in 1,300 communities throughout Ireland, welcomed the initiative for rent supplement tenants.
"This is a major step towards developing an integrated housing policy," he said. He said it would increase the supply of social housing and remove an "unemployment trap" that currently exists for people in receipt of rent supplement.
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) also welcomed the announcement.
It said the move will provide hope to many young people, particularly those who are long-term recipients of the subsidy provided to those on social welfare to help them rent private sector accommodation.
"Today's announcement is good news for young people who are being squeezed hard by the high prices demanded by landlords," said Mr Dónall Geoghegan, NYCI's policy co-ordinator.
"It provides young people who cannot afford to rent, never mind buy, their own home, with some hope. Young people on rent supplement for some time will now have greater security and better long-term housing options."