John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the legislation. I echo the comments of previous speakers in respect of what this Bill is trying to achieve and the inclusion of the main items. I welcome the inclusion of the voluntary and co-operative housing sector under the terms of the Housing Acts, which is a step in the right direction. The reduction in size of the Private Residential Tenancies Board from 15 to 12, the measures to increase take-up of mediation as a form of resolving disputes between landlords and tenants and the formal merger of the rent tribunal with the Private Residential Tenancies Board are welcome.

The Minister of State with responsibility for housing is prepared, during the course of discussion on the Bill, to examine the topic of rent arrears and a deposit protection scheme. As a number of speakers pointed out, the major source of contention between landlords and tenants since the establishment of the board seems to be the retention of deposits. Almost three quarters of the difficulties arising between landlords and tenants relate to retention of deposits.

I also note from information supplied that the activities of the board itself, despite comments by previous speakers, have been impressive. It has managed to increase the number of cases being dealt with and there has been a significant reduction in waiting times for the resolution of difficulties by the board. That is to be welcomed.

I hope the Minister of State, in her concluding remarks, will give an outline of how she intends to deal with the matter of the retention of deposits by landlords. Historically, 72% of complaints to the board have been in this area. The Minister of State has indicated her willingness to amend the Bill to include some provisions in this area. She might enlighten us as to what she intends to do.

I agree with Deputy Carey and others who spoke about anti-social behaviour. A difficulty exists for families in private rented accommodation making a complaint against a neighbour. It is difficult to make a formal complaint while continuing to live adjacent to the subject of the complaint. Existing provisions are not adequate in this regard and even have the potential to aggravate an already difficult situation. If tenants are engaging in consistent anti-social behaviour there needs to be a safer mechanism for neighbours to register a complaint and to ensure that prolonged transgressions will not be accepted. People have an expectation, which is not unreasonable, to live in peace and quiet in their own homes. This goes to the heart of what the Private Residential Tenancies Board was envisaged to do, which is to resolve disputes and allow people to get on with their lives.

More and more people are now renting privately and all indications are that we will see a significant increase in private renting in the future. More people will decide not to purchase their own homes, or will not be in a position to do so, but will live for longer in private rented accommodation. Many parts of the capital city and other parts of the country have, traditionally, seen large numbers of private rented units. In other parts of the country there has been a high turn-over, with people in college or in certain employments living in private rented accommodation for a limited number of years and, over time, moving on and buying their own homes somewhere else. We are going to see a significant increase in the number of people living in private rented accommodation in the long term.

As a public representative, I have come across an increase in the difficulties caused by anti-social behaviour. There is an inadequacy in local government and within existing legislation to deal with some of these very difficult situations. The Bill, or some further legislation in the not too distant future, could be used to ensure a more satisfactory regime for resolving some of these ongoing difficulties.

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