John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Neither of the two appointees participated in any tribunals of the board, that is, three person appeal hearings. They had, however, attended five board meetings between 4 July and September. While all decisions at the relevant meetings were taken by consensus and with an attendance well in excess of the quorum of five, the board took legal advice on the matter and, in the interests of legal certainty, it agreed that all cases considered at meetings attended by the two gentlemen in question should be considered afresh.

This was done on 19 September when approximately 120 cases brought to the board between 4 July and 9 September were considered anew. Fresh determination orders and decisions were made and communicated thereafter to the parties.

I take this opportunity to emphasise that no decisions were "set aside", as stated in today's edition of The Irish Times. Every case in question was reviewed by the board, which then issued legally correct determination orders and decisions.

It also needs to be stressed that it is PRTB policy to pursue a criminal prosecution when requested in all cases of non-compliance with its orders. In the case of an over-holding tenant, the PRTB will always initially take a civil prosecution, as this would then allow the landlord to recover possession of the property. From time to time, certain issues arise in a case, making it economically unviable to pursue a prosecution. This might be where insufficient information is available as to the whereabouts of the non-compliant party and significant costs would be incurred in establishing this, and where there is little or no chance of recovery of these costs or the financial amounts awarded in the determination order. I stress that the board's policy is to pursue enforcement of its orders, while being mindful of the need to ensure value for money for taxpayers.

I assure the House that the PRTB has made significant progress since its establishment and it is heartening that less than 1% of tenancies end in a dispute. While critical cases such as those involving illegal eviction or serious anti-social behaviour are fast-tracked by the board and handled within weeks, the board is acutely aware that the average length of time to deal with cases needs to be significantly reduced. It has taken decisive steps in this regard, including proposals for amendment to the Act, several in-house operational initiatives and the design of an ICT strategy to optimise the resources available to it. I advise the Deputy that, as Minister, I have secured an increase in the permanent staff cohort from 26 to 40——

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