Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I had a good day with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche. This morning he announced he was allocating €15,000 to Tallaght under South Dublin County Council's disability strategy.

The Minister and I agree there are challenges with the management of apartment complexes. The approach he is taking is a reasonable one. In the Dáil and other fora I have raised issues about the operation of estate management companies. The work of the Private Residential Tenancies Board is of particular interest to all Members. Recently, I have been at several meetings where the question of the functions of the board has been raised. I have concerns with its ability to tackle problems in rented accommodation.

Although I am not suggesting that the Dublin South-West constituency is different from any other, it is accepted that there have been particular challenges in the Tallaght area. The Springfield parish in which I live, which includes Virginia Heights, has had several challenges with rented accommodation. The Private Residential Tenancies Board must be given the resources and mechanisms to deal with these issues.

I compliment Deputy O'Dowd on his efforts in producing the Bill. On several occasions, I have raised issues relating to estate management companies. When Deputy Gilmore last raised the issue, I stated I had been to several public meetings in Tallaght, particularly in the Marfield Estate. I always speak positively about Tallaght. It is a different place from the one I moved to many years ago. Since the town Square opened 15 years ago, Tallaght has come of age in its development.

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