The Housing Assistance Payment is to increase by up to 35% to help tackle rising rents.
The Housing Minister says it will allow more people to secure housing and prevent new entries into homelessness.
Under the Housing Assistance Payment scheme, people who qualify for social housing and secure a home in the private rental market, have most of their rent paid directly to their landlord by the local authority.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien says the discretion rate will increase from 20 to 35% – that means councils can now pay up to 35% more than the current set HAP rates.
However the rate in Dublin – that already stands at 50% - will remain the same.
Mike Allen from Focus Ireland says it will make a difference to a significant number of people.
Meanwhile the housing minister also plans to expand the couples HAP rate to single people, which Pat Doyle from the Peter McVerry Trust says will give them a better chance of competing for homes.
At the end of April 10,049 people were homeless, the highest figure since 2020.
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