Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank all the Deputies who spoke on the Bill. Even if one counts Deputy Finian McGrath only once, more than 30 Members did so. It was a highly informed debate, as Members obviously knew what they were talking about. Moreover, many highly constructive suggestions were made and I look forward to teasing out on Committee Stage many of the issues raised here. However, I will refer to some of the common themes because a number of themes were raised by a very large number of Members.

One pertained to the issue of delays within the PRTB as it is currently known before completion of this Bill. I acknowledge and it has been recognised that issues of delay exist. However, the number of cases has grown by 25% since 2008 and staff numbers have fallen. Moreover, as some Members noted, they will fall further in accordance with the Government's employment control framework. Consequently, the Government understands the pressure under which the board is operating and, in this regard, I note it is entirely self-financing. One must also remember the PRTB has taken on the role of the courts in dealing with landlord-tenant disputes and, as such, it always must be subject to similar procedural restraints to ensure it adheres at all times to the principles of fair procedures and constitutional justice.

The PRTB itself is aware of issues of delay and has a range of modernisation initiatives that are ongoing at present, including, for example, shared services. The PRTB is working very hard on reducing delays and one element of its efforts is the implementation of its ICT plan, and progress certainly has been made in that regard. It is intended to leverage ICT to provide self-service options to clients and to bring about improved efficiencies. As many Deputies will be aware, landlords can now register their tenancies online and more than 40% of tenancies now are registered in this fashion. In addition, a three-year ICT programme has seen the development of a tenancy management system and the development of online registration. This also will be beneficial for the approved housing bodies when they come under the remit of the residential tenancies board, RTB, after the enactment of this legislation.

Deputy Clare Daly referred to an issue regarding re-registering and that also will be facilitated in the online system. This will bring about online dispute applications through the new tenancy management system which came on stream in mid-2012.

It will considerably reduce processing times in 2013. The direct payment of rent supplement to landlords is a key component of the Government strategy to transfer responsibility for long-term rent supplement payments from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities, and that should also help to reduce disputes, in addition to a tenancy deposit protection scheme, which I will discuss momentarily.

The Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, is committed to reducing delays across all areas of service delivery and I am confident it will be in a position to deliver an effective service to the new landlords and tenants coming within its remit following the enactment of the legislation. I hope the transfer of long-term rent supplement from the Department of Social Protection to my Department and local authorities will address some of the issues raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett. We are working on that.

There is no doubt that there is a considerable challenge for the PRTB and many of the measures in this Bill will be of assistance, particularly the issue of deposit protection. I intend to address that on Committee Stage, as it relates to a very large number of the cases brought to the PRTB now. The streamlining of mediation will also help, as although mediation is an easier option, it is not taken up by many people who have a dispute. We want to encourage people to take up the option of mediation. To respond to Deputy English's point, that is the reason we are eliminating the charge for mediation, which should encourage more people to use the process.

This is about balancing the rights of tenants and landlords, and many Deputies have referred to the big issues of deposit protection for tenants and payment of rent with regard to landlords. Nearly every Deputy referred to deposit protection, which concerns me greatly, and I identified it as a priority when I was appointed a Minister of State. It remains a priority and Deputies will be aware that it is also in the programme for Government. On foot of that, I asked the PRTB to commission research with economic consultants Indecon, and a final report on the topic was delivered last month. I have examined the document, which offers a range of ways in which we might implement deposit protection and fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government. I am considering the options to determine the best way to go about this.

Critical issues include whether a scheme should be custodial or insurance-based in nature and whether it should be operated by the PRTB or a third party. There is also the question of how it should interface with the current legal system and the PRTB. These are quite complex issues and in order to ensure we deliver deposit protection in the context of the current Bill, we must address these issues as quickly as possible. In order to inform wider debate and thinking on the topic, I have published the report on the Department's website so it is available to any Deputy who wishes to read it. I very much look forward to hearing the views on Committee and Report Stages. I wish to act on the establishment of a deposit protection scheme in the context of this Bill's passage through the Oireachtas.

The issue of rent supplement was raised by a number of Deputies and I am committed to rent supplement reform and the transfer of rent supplement from the Department of Social Protection to the local government system. We are working on that currently and hope to have a pilot of the new scheme under the housing assistance payment, HAP, a new rent assistance system that we intend to introduce. We hope that in the second half of 2013 there will be pilots to test how we can eventually transfer the long-term rent supplement system in its entirety to local authorities. Rent supplement was originally intended to be a short-term income support but it has evolved into a long-term housing support. Exchequer costs are estimated at €500 million, which is a considerable amount, and it is intended to introduce HAP, which will be paid directly to landlords with the Department of Social Protection maintaining a residual rent supplement system for certain households with short-term needs. Those short-term cases for rent supplement will stay with the Department of Social Protection but the long-term cases - most people on rent supplement - will make the transfer. We want to remove barriers to employment in the current system, which will be important in facilitating people trying to return to work. I am determined to drive that process as quickly as possible and I am working with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, in that regard.

In discussing Government plans for the transfer of long-term rent supplement payments to local authorities I will refer to the contribution of Deputy O'Dea. He provided a "Walter Mitty" type of intervention in saying that he raised this issue frequently when he was a Minister but nothing was done. I do not know if that means Deputy O'Dea was not effective in the way he raised it or whether his colleagues did not listen to him. Nothing was done either way and we are hoping that we can take up the slack as quickly as possible. It is a priority for us.

The issue of minimum standards in rented accommodation was raised by a number of Deputies, particularly Deputy Donohoe, as well as Deputy Ellis, who is in the Chamber, and Deputies McNamara, Crowe and Kenny. There is no doubt there has been an substantial improvement in the regulation of the rental sector in recent years but there are still difficulties with standards. Under the 2008 rented standards regulations, the outward appearance of a rented property, including the garden, is the responsibility of a landlord, and local authorities must continue to enforce standards in this regard. Deputy Donohoe praised the work recently carried out by Dublin City Council in his constituency, where people went from door to door in an intensive attempt to identify substandard rental accommodation. This work is the result of intensive inspection projects carried out by Dublin City Council and specifically funded by my Department. In 2010, €2.4 million was set aside for local authorities from the process of PRTB registration fees to carry out blitz inspections of key areas and categories of housing. In Dublin the North Circular Road area was highlighted.

In addition to the usual inspections of local authorities, these projects were known as intensive inspection projects, and they targeted particular categories of rented accommodation, such as older and dilapidated properties, properties which are the subject of rent supplement payments and large properties subdivided into multiple residential units. Dublin City Council did an intensive job in a particular area, with an additional six environmental health officers used on a contract basis. That was very successful, as described by Deputy Donohoe in his contribution. The work is planned to continue until March 2015 and I am glad it has been of benefit to residents.

On 1 February, the full effects of the housing standards for rented houses regulation will come into force for existing residential rented accommodation, meaning there must be separate sanitary facilities for tenants.

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