Tenants who receive rent supplement allowances will now be provided with long-term accommodation under a new housing initiative announced yesterday.
Under the new scheme, launched by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Housing and Urban Renewal, rent supplements will be provided to meet people's accommodation needs for a period of 18 months.
After that time local authorities will be responsible for providing them with long term housing.
The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, said there was a need to move away from the current scheme of providing tenants with long-term rent supplement allowances that encourages an over-dependence on subsidies and is of no economic benefit to the State.
In 2003, €332 million was spent by the State on rent supplements to private landlords.
This represents an increase of over 30 per cent from the previous year.
"I believe that this new approach has the potential to benefit tenants, taxpayers, accommodation providers and the housing market generally," Ms Coughlan said.
The new arrangements involve an extension of the social housing role of local authorities through private rented accommodation. These could include specifically built premises, existing supplementary welfare allowance rented properties and new developments under public private partnerships.
Fine Gael spokesmen Mr Bernard Allen and Mr Michael Ring questioned the Government's intention to deliver on the new initiatives "when it has failed to meet every other commitment in the housing area up to now."
The Labour Party spokesman, Mr Willie Penrose, expressed serious concern at the implications of the further restrictions on eligibility for rent supplement. "To effectively deny people rent supplement after 18 months and to require local authorities to meet their housing needs through accommodation bases measures would simply add hugely to existing local authority waiting lists unless the Government provided significant funds. The huge amount of money being paid to private landlords under the rent supplement scheme was a matter of concern, Mr Penrose said.
The CORE Justice Commission welcomed the new scheme stating that it provides substantial gain for some of Ireland's most vulnerable people.