Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the €50 collected as part of the €70 Private Residential Tenancies Board registration fee is ring fenced for allocation to the local authority in whose area it is collected to enable it to perform its functions under the Housing Acts; and the monitoring that is undertaken by his Department to ensure that the money allocated is used for the purpose intended. [14448/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 provides for a registration fee of €70 per tenancy where it is registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board within one month of the tenancy's commencement. €50 of each €70 fee is used to create a pool of funding from which allocations are made to local authorities to assist them in carrying out their functions in relation to private rented accommodation standards and rent books. Monies from this fund are allocated to local authorities on the basis of a formula which takes into account:

(a) the number of registered tenancies within each local authority area,

(b) each authority's inspections targets for the particular year, and

(c) the actual number of inspections carried out, as reported by local authorities.

Funding is increasingly being related to inspection performance. Half of the allocation for 2007 is based on actual inspections carried out and it is proposed to make allocations increasingly related to performance in the future. Accordingly, while allocations will continue to take account of the number of tenancies registered in a local authority's area, the increasing linkage to inspection performance means that where a particular authority's inspection activity is low relative to others, this will be reflected in a reduced allocation. In overall terms, significantly increased funding is being made available to local authorities in respect of their enforcement activities in relation to private rented accommodation. Over €2m was provided in 2006, an increase of 33% over the corresponding funding in 2005. A further €3m was allocated in respect of 2007, bringing total funding for this purpose since 2004 to approximately €7m. It is hoped to increase further the level of funding in 2008 in the light of returns on local authority performance.