Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They are both unavoidably absent today and they asked me to stand in. I did not question where they are, I just took their bona fides, which I have no reason to doubt. I assure Senator Boyhan that I will pass on his sentiments to the Minister and the Minister of State. Officials from the Department are also monitoring this debate and taking on board the points raised by the Senator. He can rest assured that he is not making his case in vain.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter of monitoring standards in local authority housing stock. The Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, last amended in 2019, specify requirements on a range of matters such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light and safety of gas, oil and electrical supply. These minimum standards also include measures covering fire safety, carbon monoxide and window safety. The regulations apply to all rented dwellings, both private rented houses and local authority housing stock, with just a small number of exemptions. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure their rented properties comply with these regulations. Responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority. Local authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of their own housing stock under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 2015, including responsive and planned maintenance and the identification of housing in need of upgrade, regeneration or adaptation.

The Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness committed all local authorities to adopting a preventative maintenance approach to housing stock management, including consistent standards and the adoption of a common national re-letting performance standard. The City and County Management Association, CCMA, on behalf of local authorities, is driving a shared approach to the planned maintenance of social housing, including stock condition surveys, building on the work that several local authorities have already launched in that regard and there is ongoing dialogue between the CCMA and the Department to advance reform in the area.

In addition to funding provided by the local authorities themselves in respect of their own housing stock - approximately €350 million per annum - the Government provides funding across a number of programmes to support local authority work to maintain and improve social housing stock, for example the energy retrofitting and voids programmes. In all cases, however, it is the local authorities that identify priorities. Local authorities have a multi-stage procedure for dealing with complaints from their tenants regarding housing conditions. The first involves discussing the complaint at the point of service. This is usually the quickest and most efficient way to address matters that have arisen. If someone is unhappy with the outcome of this first stage, a formal complaint can be made under the council's complaints and appeals procedure, details of which can be found on the websites of the local authorities. If a person continues to consider the response from the local authority to be unsatisfactory, the matter may be pursued further through the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Residential Tenancies Board is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2019 to operate a national tenancy registration system, provide information and advice to the public, and to resolve disputes between private landlords and tenants. The inspection of rental properties is not a function of the RTB. Social housing is subject to a separate legislative regime under the Housing Acts and it would not be appropriate for the RTB to have an enforcement role in relation to social housing.