Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 479: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will support a matter (details supplied). [35499/08]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Failure to do so is an offence, subject, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000, or a term of six months in prison or both and €250 for each day of a continuing offence. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department.

In line with the commitment in Towards 2016 to update these minimum standards, work is nearing completion on a package of measures to deliver on this objective. Higher standards will be introduced for sanitary and cooking facilities, heating, ventilation and lighting. Provisions in respect of fire safety and refuse facilities will be included in this package and I expect proposals in this regard to be submitted to Government shortly, with the associated regulations being made thereafter.

A number of specific elements of the package will require primary legislation and will be addressed in the context of the passage through the Oireachtas of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008. These include increased penalties for non-compliance and the introduction of a more robust sanctions regime.

Local authorities have significantly expanded their inspection regimes in recent years. Over 14,000 inspections of rental accommodation were reported by local authorities in 2007, representing an increase of 42% on the corresponding figure for 2006. More detailed information on the number of inspections carried out each year up to and including 2007 is included in my Department's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website at www.environ.ie.

My Department provides significant resources, from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, to assist local authorities in discharging their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. Over €9m has been provided to local authorities for this purpose since 2004. Funding is increasingly being related to inspection performance. Half of the funding paid in respect of 2007 was based on actual inspections carried out and this will also be the case in respect of 2008. I have no doubt that the significantly increased funding being made available to local authorities for inspection activity, and the manner in which I am increasingly linking funding allocations to actual inspections carried out, have contributed to the improved performance.

It is a matter for each individual local authority to decide on the specific details of its inspection arrangements. However, in discharging their responsibilities in relation to the rental sector, authorities have been asked to have regard to the report — Good Practice Guidelines for Local Authorities on Standards in the Private Rented Sector: Strategic Planning, Effective Enforcement — published by the Centre for Housing Research in November 2007, which makes a range of recommendations on matters relevant to inspection procedures such as identifying and targeting inspection requirements.