Richard Boyd Barrett challenges outdated rent supplement limits

Minister, the maximum rent limits on rent supplement have not been reviewed for years, as far as I know, and they are ridiculously low compared to where rents have gone. So, for example, if you've got three children, whether you're a couple or a single parent, you can't rent a place in Dublin for more than €1,300. Now, there's no such thing as a rent of €1,300 for a family that size in Dublin. So, there are crazy limits. They have to be reviewed upwards. I'll give you more examples in my supplementary. Thank you, Deputy. Rent supplement as it currently exists is a short-term support paid to families and individuals as an initial payment when they encounter difficulties in meeting rent costs, for example, on the loss of employment when they apply for a job-seeker payment. As we discussed earlier with Deputy O'Reilly, where longer-term support is required, the person transitions on to HAP, the housing assistance payment. The rent limits applied on rent supplement are aligned with those on HAP. Expenditure on rent supplement paid by the Department of Social Protection in 2025 is provisionally estimated at just over €52.2 million. This compares to a 2026 estimate of over €570 million for HAP and the rental accommodation scheme. $52.2 million for rent supplement and €570 million for HAP. The issue of review in the rent limits is a matter in which my colleague, the Minister for Housing, is taking the lead. I understand the Minister has approved the commencement of a review of housing assistance payment rent limits. Officials from my Department will provide input into this review and any changes to rent supplement limits will then be aligned to the outcome of the housing assistance payment review. It is important, however, to note that there is flexibility in the application of rent supplement limits with higher rent supplement payments that are payable in certain circumstances. For example, my Department, in conjunction with Threshold, operates a special protocol in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Galway, Mead and Wicklow, where supply issues are particularly acute. Threshold, advise, advocate and intervene on behalf of individuals or families in receipt of rent supplement who are in danger of losing their tenancies. My Department also operates a protocol with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive who liaise on behalf of local authorities and we operate a special protocol with Cooine to assist people fleeing domestic violence. Additional need payments are also available to assist those with essential expenses such as rent deposits, rent in advance or household bills that cannot be paid from weekly incomes. Minister, I know there is some flexibility and there is some discretion, so I accept that, but the maximum limits that are set down by the Department have not been adjusted for years and they are completely out of line with where rents are actually at. I have had cases, and it is true, eventually after some difficulty and anxiety and concern for people, you sometimes get them sorted. I take the point that most people have moved on to HAP, but these temporary or emergency or special or exceptional needs payments where for one reason or another people are not on HAP are very important to the people who get them and we shouldn't be making it sort of, they shouldn't be the starting point of the limits don't make any sense, right? So they need to be reviewed and at the moment they are just completely, they're almost meaningless, in Dublin, in Kondair, the commuter areas and so on, they have to be reviewed upwards, even if it is a relatively small number, as you're outlining, 52 million still means there's a lot of people getting it, right? So they need to be reviewed upwards. Mr. Stuart? Just that figure is 5,706 active recipients at the end of December. Apologies. 5,000 meant to give you that. 5,700 meant to give you that as well. And certainly, Deputy, I work with the Department of Housing in reviewing them, ensuring that our rent supplement are aligned. I am conscious and I'm aware that they haven't been reviewed in some time and I'm absolutely determined to make sure that we work with them. And if there are delays or blockages in cases, then bring this to my attention, we will look at ensuring that those delays are not adding to people's stress in terms of homelessness or in terms of the distress at that particular point. And I certainly work with you in relation to particular cases on that. Thanks. Look, Minister, I appreciate that response and I accept that. These payments come under exceptional leads, essentially. And if I might take the opportunity of my second supplementary to raise another issue under exceptional needs, but it's under the same sort of general heading, is the moving in payment when you get allocated a house, right? There's a problem with that. If, say, for Katie and her family got allocated for a transfer from a terrible situation just before Christmas, but she can't apply for the moving in allowance to her new place, which she's delighted about, which she just moved in yesterday, but her kids had to sleep. They had two mattresses and a fridge. That's all that's in the house. And that's where the kids, her and her kids and her partner had to sleep. Because you can't apply for the moving in allowance until you get your keys, even though she was allocated to the house before Christmas. Now, that doesn't make sense. That's just one example, right? As soon as you're allocated, or as soon as you can confirm that you have a place to move into and you're eligible for the moving in allowance, you should be able to get it there and then, not have to wait till you're in with the keys, which means either you have to continue to stay in your old place and pay two rents, which happens to some people, or for weeks you and your kids or whatever are going around with no carpets, no fridge, no this, that or the other. And by the way, the heating wasn't working when she moved in either. I'm not going to comment on an individual case, but I certainly will come back. In just relation to exception needs generally, and it's been raised by you, Chair, and by Deputy Wright, in terms of the committee, I do plan on organising a session with the community welfare team, and just to go through everything, just to get feedback, we'll be doing that in the AV room at some stage during February. So they're the kind of things I want to hear, kind of the nominees that are there, and there'll also be explanations given us maybe why they're there. And we can have a discussion around that, because it's one, we'll be doing it in February. It's an issue that keeps coming back, and we want to try and get feedback from every Deputy and Senator in relation to that. We'll do that at some stage in February. I let every Deputy know.