Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I am anxious to facilitate the Minister of State in respect of this legislation, as I understand the legal difficulties that could arise for his Department were the House not to approve it. However, I am critical of the mess that the PRTB and the Department have made in terms of overseeing the appointment of the people in question.

In June 2008, the Opposition brought to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Gormley, the fact that two of his appointees were members of a local authority, but he dismissed the matter. He then discovered that they were not entitled to be members of the board in light of the fact that they were political representatives. The legislation was unambiguous in prohibiting members of local authorities or other public representatives from being appointed.

One would have expected the Department to put in place the necessary oversight of this and other agencies to prevent a similar mistake from recurring, but it has recurred. It is embarrassing for the Minister of State to correct the error on behalf of the Government. I do not level the blame at him, but at his Department and the senior Minister. That there was a problem with the manner in which corporate governance issues and appointments were being made was up there in lights. A mistake was made as recently as last September.

In the briefing given by the Minister of State, he mentioned how much head way has been made by the board in respect of these matters, but I am afraid that I must differ with him on the basis of experience. The board was set up as an agency to improve the system through which disputes between landlords and tenants are resolved. However, there are still cases where, after lasting for an average of 11 or 13 months, landlords must go to court to repossess their houses. At the time, the Department was warned about the possibility of these cases being dragged out to the extent that the landlord suffered by being unable to collect rent. Irresponsible tenants, of whom there are unfortunately too many, are playing every trick in the book in order to prolong the length of time they can remain in accommodation free of charge. This arises because the Private Residential Tenancies Board is not making decisions quickly enough.

I ask the Minister of State, in the context of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008, to which he has indicated he will introduce amendments, to take on board the genuine cases and the suffering endured by people in having their rights vindicated under this legislation.

I received a letter today from a person in County Wicklow who is out of pocket to the tune of €31,000 in unpaid rent, of which more than €20,000 has accrued owing to delays on the part of this board, which is unacceptable. I will provide the Minister of State with the relevant information in this regard which may assist him in reaching conclusions about the operation, or not, of this board.

While I will support the passing of this legislation given the legal issues to which the State could be exposed, I am critical of the board's operation.

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