A new report from the Comptroller and Auditor General has identified a large increase in rent supplement paid out by the State since 2000.
The report shows that €1,636 million was paid out by the State in rent allowance from 2000 to 2005. But annual expenditure in the same period jumped from €150 million to €369 million.
According to the report, some of the rise in expenditure is due to an increase in the number of recipients of the payments, which jumped from 43,000 in 2000 to 60,100 at the end of 2003.
In addition, the average rent supplement payment rose by €50 between 2000 and 2005, due to higher rents.
Rent supplements are paid by the Department of Social and Family Affairs to people on low income who are renting private accommodation but are unable to afford the cost.
The report claims expenditure on rent supplements could have been reduced if the Department was able to more effectively monitor rental fluctuations.
The rent limits set by the Department to limit its spending on rent supplement were increased in response to rapid rises in market rents in 2000/2001. However, the report points out that rent limits were not adjusted accordingly when market rents fell by 10 per cent between 2002 and 2004.
The report states: "The Department needs to adapt its electronic recording systems to capture and report information on the factors underlying cost fluctuations in order to monitor trends and effectively manage the scheme."
The report expresses concern that there is too great a variation in applying controls to rent supplement claims between Community Welfare Service areas.
Instances of overpayments of rent supplements, according to the report, have been detected too late. The report recommends that the Department introduce more effective methods to prevent fraud and adopt a policy of prosecuting quickly in serious fraud cases.
The rent supplement scheme was intended to be a short-term assistance for households. However, the report found that over two-thirds of rent supplement recipients are likely to be receiving the supplement a year later and 55 per cent two years later.
The use of rent supplement for long periods has led to the introduction of schemes to attempt to reduce the numbers getting the benefit, but the report claims the uptake of these schemes has been slow.