John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

The Residential Tenancies Act of 2004 instituted a comprehensive reform of the private rental sector. It set out a modern legislative code which strengthens tenants' rights and supports a more professional approach by landlords. One of the central ingredients of the Act was the establishment of the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, which has a central role in the registration of tenancies and with the resolution of disputes between tenants and landlords.

Appointments to the board are made by me, as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Act specifies that the maximum number of board members shall be 15 and the minimum number shall be nine and, in making those appointments, a mix of legal, professional, operational and other skills is sought. Given the quasi-judicial nature of the board and its regular interactions with the courts, legal representation on the board has always been very useful. When considering further appointments to the board some months ago, I was particularly mindful that the existing board was strongly of the view that a barrister member would be helpful. Accordingly, on 30 June last, I appointed Vincent P. Martin, a barrister-at-law and member of Monaghan County Council to the board. I also appointed Dessie Larkin, a member of Donegal County Council with extensive experience. Both appointments were for the period up to 31 December 2012.

Last month, it was brought to my Department's attention that these appointments were made in error as section 169 of the Act not alone precludes members of the Oireachtas from membership of the board, but also members of local authorities. This provision was overlooked in my Department when the appointments were being made. The result is that both appointments were ultra vires, or invalid, and my office made contact in mid-September with both the individuals in question to advise them of this.

Deputy Ciarán Lynch will have no difficulty in principle with the fact that the people I chose to appoint to this board were councillors. Only yesterday his Labour Party colleague, Senator Michael McCarthy, called on the Government to allow councillors to continue membership of harbour boards.

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