Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this matter. I appreciate the genuine way in which he put his concerns forward. I accept that those concerns are valid.

The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 specify requirements on a range of matters such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supply. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure their properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority.

The strategy for the rental sector recognises the need for additional resources to be provided to local authorities to aid increased inspections of properties, as the Deputy alluded to in terms of the figures he quoted from the reply to the relevant parliamentary question. In fact, significant and increased Exchequer funding has been made available to local authorities since 2018. Since then, the amount of money allocated has increased by 300%. I accept demand had increased also. In 2021, my Department provided €10 million of funding, up from €2.5 million three years earlier. The aim is to enable local authorities to target 25% of all local rental properties for an annual inspection. Significant progress has been made across the sector and the number of inspections has more than doubled from 19,645 in 2017 to 40,728 in 2019. However, given the need for inspectors to enter tenants' homes, Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have greatly impacted on private rental inspections. The County and City Management Association's current guidance does not permit rental inspections during levels 4 and 5 restrictions. This is to protect tenants, landlords and inspectors.

On-site inspections fell, understandably, to just over 24,000 last year. However, the local authority sector has been innovative in its response to the pandemic in this area. Local authorities have been piloting virtual inspections over recent months and my Department has been happy to facilitate this initiative across the country, most especially with appropriate funding for these inspections. Dublin City Council has led the initiative, which entails landlords receiving a checklist for self-assessment and being required to submit photographic and video evidence by email. Tenants have been invited to raise any issues or instances of non-compliance that they are aware of and the council reserves the right to conduct a physical on-site inspection, when it is safe to do so. While virtual inspection systems, at present, have certain challenges and limitations, they have offered a way of providing a standard of rental accommodation despite the pandemic restrictions we are in. I am optimistic that they can and will continue to form part of a newly enhanced post-pandemic inspection regime.

Like the rest of the country, the sector awaits the full opening of our economy. My Department continues to work closely with local authorities to make sure that once it does, they will be ready to return quickly to their traditional inspection regimes augmented by virtual inspections, so that it can go towards reaching the ambitious national target we have set.

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