LIMERICK city residents are claiming almost €1.3 million in rent subsidies every month, with 3,900 households claiming the allowance from community welfare officers. The figure was revealed on foot of questions from the Limerick Post about the cost of the allowance in the city, and proposed changes to the administration of the system. The amount being spent on keeping qualifying people in privately rented accommodation has been deemed dead money, which could more usefully be spent on building houses to tackle the housing waiting list, which in turn, would bring in rent revenue for the city.
Figures supplied to the Limerick Post from the Department of Social Protection showed that 3,900 households are claiming the allowance at an average of €352 per month.
This amounts to a monthly pay out of €1,267,500 by the department, via Community Welfare Officers.
Independent city councillor, John Gilligan, who has been outspoken on the stagnation of the city’s housing list, said the money “might as well be thrown over our shoulders.
“We’re firing all this money at the problem and doing nothing to solve it. And what’s worse, once people have been given this allowance, their housing needs are deemed to be met. We are just turning our backs on the people on the waiting list”.
Cllr Gilligan added that he is not suggesting that people in need of help with renting a house should be denied help, “but we have 3,000 people on our list and 3,900 claiming this allowance. Anyone can see how those figures work out”.
The rent subsidy scheme pays a large, or in some cases, the whole, portion of the cost of renting private accommodation for social welfare recipients and people on a low wage.
The money is paid to the tenant rather than the landlord, and, Cllr Gilligan believes this can also cause problems for landlords.
“Most people given rent allowance pay their way but there’s still a lot more rent allowance being paid out than is being paid over to the landlords”.
According to information provided by the Department, proposals are being worked out to transfer the function of providing for the needs housing needs of long-term recipients of rent allowance from the Department to the local housing authorities.
This will most likely mean that responsibility for dealing with the payments will fall to Limerick City Council, although the funding will still come from central government.
But details of how it will be administered, including a decision on whether rent allowance will be paid directly to landlords, have not yet been laid down.
